Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions The APF has collaborated with a number of institutions and agencies on studies, training programmes and other initiatives related to the rights of women and girls. Its engagement at the international level on this matter has included leading an advocacy campaign to secure a formal role for NHRIs to participate at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the major intergovernmental policy forum on women’s issues. The APF’s Advisory Council of Jurists has also been active on the issue of gender and the human rights of women and girls. STRUCTURE OF THE MANUAL The objective of the Manual is to provide NHRIs with tools and information that can help them to integrate the human rights of women and girls into their work and to engage effectively on issues that are of direct importance to the rights of women and girls. The Manual contains 12 chapters, organized in four parts. Part I introduces the human rights of women and girls. It outlines some of the many challenges facing women and girls and explains why their rights require separate and additional attention. It also explains the key international laws, mechanisms and procedures that have been developed to advance the human rights of women and girls. Part II considers the practical ways in which NHRIs can protect and promote the human rights of women and girls. The chapters reflect the primary functions of NHRIs, including: to support a strong national legal and policy framework; to respond to allegations of human rights violations involving women and girls; to conduct inquiries into systemic violations of human rights; to promote awareness and understanding of human rights; and to engage with regional and international human rights bodies and mechanisms. Part III examines in detail three issues that have been identified as priorities for many NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region: reproductive rights; violence against women; and the rights of female migrant domestic workers. Part IV concludes the Manual with a review of the ways in which NHRIs can effectively integrate gender and the human rights of women and girls into different aspects of their work and organizational practice. It also includes a discussion on how NHRIs can effectively mainstream women’s and girls’ human rights into their general activities and programmes. All parts of the Manual feature examples of good practice drawn from APF member institutions. Each chapter includes key questions, the legal basis for the involvement of NHRIs and a summary of the major issues. viii