We supported APF members in West Asia In the past year, the APF’s sub-regional office (SRO) in West Asia delivered a broad range of human rights training, advisory and other capacity development services for NHRIs in the West Asia region. This included publishing a case study documenting how NHRIs in West Asia have responded to the challenges of COVID-19. The case study, available in Arabic and English, brings together experiences shared by NHRIs in Iraq, Palestine and Qatar during a webinar held by the SRO in August 2020. The SRO also supported the APF by translating guides and resources into Arabic, as well as facilitating the Arabic version of the APF online course Understanding NHRIs and the Paris Principles, delivered to 28 participants from six NHRIs in the sub-region. We provided ongoing support to APF regional networks We responded to COVID-19 travel restrictions by expanding the APF’s professional networks, enabling more representatives from each NHR to participate. The networks are hosted in the APF Community, which provides a safe and secure online space for collaboration between members. In the past year, we established the APF Gender Network (AGN) with 18 representatives from our region and expanded the APF Facilitators Network to become the APF Educators and Facilitator’s Network (AEFN). Participants that had successfully completed the APF’s Human Rights Education (HRE) and Facilitation course were invited to join the AEFN, increasing its membership from 11 to 44 representatives. In June 2021, APF Senior Executive Officers Network (SEO) members came together for a virtual roundtable on ‘Effective NHRIs in a COVID-19 reality’, providing an opportunity for senior leaders to share the practical tools and measures their NHRIs have used to work more effectively during the pandemic. The APF Communications Network (ACN) transitioned from their social media group to the APF Community space and have continued to share news stories from their NHRIs. These stories have also been published on the APF website, e-newsletter, and social media sites, ensuring that the APF network remains informed on NHRI news from around the region. The need for connection between NHRIs was highlighted by members in this year’s annual member survey, with the value of collaboration and sharing scoring highly. This can be attributed to our extensive efforts in engaging with our networks this past year. Looking forward We will continue to invest in the development of the APF Community as the primary vehicle of online capacity development activities and virtual engagement and collaboration. We will ensure that the technology is accessible, and that the resource library is comprehensive and regularly updated with relevant content. Building on the momentum of activities this year with the APF’s SRO, we will continue to support the office to identify and deliver programmes that align with the APF’s outcomes and needs in the West Asia sub-region. As the impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt across the Asia Pacific, it is vital that we connect with each another and support APF networks in the coming year. We will continue to facilitate useful, engaging and participatory meetings and events that enable and encourage collaboration across our membership. “The HRCM highly values its membership in the APF, as APF provides technical expertise, timely advice, and guidance to the HRCM whenever requested. APF also helps to build the capacity of the staff, and this helps to strengthen different functions of the Commission.” Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, APF Annual Member Survey 2020-2021 “We can say that a lot of the progress that we have made to date as an NHRI has been due to the help APF has provided us. Our Office has been able to prioritise work more effectively. We have also been able to incorporate mechanisms i.e., monitoring and evaluation which will greatly help with assessing the impact of our work.” The Office of the Ombudsman, Samoa, APF Annual Member Survey 2020 – 2021 16 ASIA PACIFIC FORUM OF NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2020/21 17