Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions The 11th ICC Conference, held in Amman, Jordan from 5–7 November 2012, was hosted by the Jordan National Centre for Human Rights and organised in cooperation with the OHCHR and the ICC. Along with representatives from NHRIs, the conference included civil society organisations, governments, UN agencies, academics and leading international experts. The conference was preceded by a major NGO forum, which contributed a range of issues for discussion during the conference and highlighted the strategic value of NHRIs working in partnership with civil society. The focus of the conference was on the rights of women. NHRIs from around the world agreed on a series of concrete actions to promote gender equality and address the factors that lead to discrimination, violence and other violations of the rights of women and girls. These commitments were outlined in the final conference statement titled the ‘Amman Declaration and Programme of Action’. Supported by more than 70 NHRIs, the Amman Declaration sets out a number of broad principles and areas of work to promote greater gender equality, including that NHRIs: • monitor the performance of the State in promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls and, where appropriate, monitor the activities of business and other non-State actors • respond to, and investigate allegations of, violations of the rights of women and girls and work to eliminate the stigma associated with raising human rights violations • undertake education, promotion and awareness-raising activities to promote the human rights of women and girls and to counter prejudice and stereotypes, and • build strategic partnerships with key national and UN agencies that have a role to promote gender equality. In addition, the Amman Declaration sets out a number of practical steps that NHRIs can take to promote women’s political and public participation; advance women’s economic and social rights; respond to violence against women and girls; and address women’s health and reproductive rights. The Declaration is also supported by regional action plans developed by the four regional groupings of NHRIs from Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific and Europe. The APF also participated in the 26th Session of the ICC which was held in Geneva from 6–8 May 2013. 4.2. Regional mechanisms The APF seeks to work with regional intergovernmental mechanisms to promote and protect human rights. Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum is an intergovernmental regional mechanism comprised of the member States from Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The APF, the OHCHR and the Pacific Islands Forum secretariat (PIFs) developed a new memorandum of understanding to strengthen their partnership in promoting the establishment of NHRIs in the Pacific region. The new agreement builds on a 2009 memorandum of understanding between the APF and PIFs, and the APF’s partnership agreement with OHCHR. The agreement will ensure the sustainability of the work in the region and will highlight the particular areas of expertise that each organisation brings to the partnership. The APF, OHCHR and PIFs are currently working with the governments of Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to set up NHRIs in their countries. 44 | 4. Engage with international and human rights mechanisms