Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions 2.6. THE APF GENDER POLICY CAs in the Asia Pacific region are conducted in accordance with the APF Gender Policy and examine whether the NHRI undertaking the CA is gender sensitive and mainstreams gender in its work, internally and externally. The APF Gender Policy was adopted at the APF’s 16th General Meeting in 2011.5 The APF recognises that An effective program of gender mainstreaming requires: • Explicit gender policies and implementation frameworks • Capacities for systematic gender analysis in planning and programming, and • Tracking and accountability system with specific performance indicators and measures of progress.6 To achieve this, the APF seeks to: • Enhance members’ institutional capacity to deliver gender equality • Enhance members’ communication, cooperation and engagement on gender issues • Promote gender equality through compliance with the Paris Principles • Engage with regional and international gender related human rights mechanisms, and • Effectively and efficiently manage the APF to ensure gender equality.7 In adopting the Gender Policy, the 16th Annual Meeting resolved that the APF will: 1. promote effective cooperation and collaboration between the APF, national human rights institutions and national and regional human rights NGOs on issues relating to the rights of women 2. promote improved recognition of the rights of women within national institutions, both through appropriate structures and effective mechanisms and through relevant training programs for staff and members 3. assess and address gender differences and inequalities in their institutions and operations 4. define common indicators of gender equity outcomes and regularly monitor and report on these 5. support and sustain incorporation of a gender perspective into the mainstream of APF activities 6. give priority to the use of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis in publications and information systems in order to ensure that they reflect awareness of gender equality as a determinant of human rights 7. ensure that programmatic and thematic evaluations indicate the extent to which gender issues have been incorporated 8. identify, and promulgate information about, good practices on measuring the impact of integrating gender into human rights policies, including the development of indicators and information systems that disaggregate data by sex. The APF has developed internal gender mainstreaming checklists for all functions of the secretariat and programmes of work and the following is an internal checklist for team members on the CAs: • review and integrate gender mainstreaming requirements in the capacity assessment guidelines 16 5 Available at www.asiapacificforum.net/resources/apf-gender-policy/. 6 APF Gender Policy 2011 p 5 at www.asiapacificforum.net/resources/apf-gender-policy/. 7 APF Gender Policy 2011 p 6 at www.asiapacificforum.net/resources/apf-gender-policy/.