Providing advice and support Outcome 1: APF membership is increased A fundamental goal of the APF is to support the establishment of independent NHRIs in the region and to strengthen the mandates of those that already exist. To support this objective, we provide advice to governments, NHRIs, and civil society groups on the unique status of NHRIs, their roles and functions, their relationship with government, parliament, and civil society, and the international accreditation process. 26 APF Members This includes legal policy advice on compliance with the international standards for NHRIs set out in the Paris Principles and technical advice on operational issues, such as organisational structures, operational procedures, and financial resources. We supported the establishment of NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region One of our priorities is to assist governments in our region to establish independent and effective NHRIs. Commissioner with follow-up advice on the domestic legal instruments to give effect to its constitutional mandate. We provide advice and expertise to governments and civil society organisations to promote the establishment of independent NHRIs that meet the standards set out in the Paris Principles. We also worked closely with the Ombudsman of Samoa, which is considering advocacy for changes to its enabling legislation to implement recommendations from GANHRI’s sub-committee on accreditation (SCA) following its accreditation review in October 2021. We also provide advice and expertise to our members on a range of issues, including strengthening their legislation, assisting them with international accreditation and helping develop robust policy and practice. In 2021-22, we provided 368 hours of advice on NHRI establishment and legislation, more than double the volume of advice work than the previous year. The significant increase is due to the return to international travel in 2022 after COVID restrictions and an increase in requests from governments and APF members for advice on NHRI establishment and legislation. Throughout the year we also supported members who were advocating for amendments to their existing legal mandate. This included support to the Commissioner for Human Rights of Kazakhstan. We will continue to support the 10 We continued to highlight the importance of gender considerations from the early stages of NHRI establishment. For example, to support the Office of the Ombudsman of the Cook Islands, which is in the process of establishing an NHRI, Office staff participated in the APF’s online course on gender equality, strengthening their understanding and knowledge of gender equality and gender mainstreaming. In our advice on proposed legislation to establish an NHRI in Cambodia, we suggested structured measures to ensure gender diversity and pluralism among the leadership and staff of the proposed NHRI, such as a commitment to include a mandatory minimum number of women members on the NHRI’s decision-making body. APF Annual Report 2021-2022