○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ In the Asia-Pacific region, the United Nations has supported the human rights co-operation by organising the annual meetings. Meanwhile, a number of national human rights institutions were established, and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) was formed in 1996 with a purpose to develop co-operation among the national human rights institutions of the region. The initial Members of the Forum are the national institutions of Australia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. The national institution of Mongolia was accepted to be its new member, while the newly established Commissions of Malaysia, Republic of Korea, and Thailand are in the process of application to the Forum members. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ �� ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (2002-2007) ○ Plan ○ The Strategic human rights is recognised by the United Nations as human rights defenders. However, their life and safety have still been under threats, and some were persecuted due to the works they carried out. Notwithstanding many positive signs, there are widespread human rights violations as witnessed in many parts of the world. Some of violations include the suppression of people’s uprisings, the ethnic conflicts and the incitement of racial hatred, the abuses of vulnerable groups such as children and women who increasingly fall victim to human trafficking. After the “September 11” tragedy, most governments have issued tougher measures to combat against terrorism. The worrying trend is that these measures were likely to violate civil liberties and basic rights in the name of national 10 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ In addition, the important role of the NGOs in the field of security and public safety.