Regional Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders Contents Foreword 3 Acknowledgements 4 Glossary of Terms 5 Executive Summary 6 Part 1: Background 8 Objective 9 Who are Human Rights Defenders? 9 The Asia Pacific Context 12 Violations against Human Rights Defenders in the Asia Pacific 13 Human Rights Defenders and COVID-19 15 A Complementary Protection and Promotion Framework 16 Part 2: Regional Actions Regional Action 1: Support regional policy making on HRDs 19 Regional Action 2: Engage with regional civil society actors and international partners 19 Regional Action 3: Facilitate collaboration between NHRIs 20 Regional Action 4: Facilitate relocation and respite for Human Rights Defenders 21 Regional Action 5: Support the establishment of NHRIs 21 Regional Action 6: Develop regional data on Human Rights Defenders 22 Regional Action 7: Strengthen the capacity of NHRIs 22 Part 3: National Actions National Action 1: Advocate for national legal protections National Action 2: Promote gender equality and mainstream the recognition of Women Human Rights Defenders 24 25 26 National Action 3: Raise awareness of the rights of Human Rights Defenders 27 National Action 4: Develop ‘early warning systems’ 27 National Action 5: Monitor violations against Human Rights Defenders 28 National Action 6: Report on violations against Human Rights Defenders 29 National Action 7: Engage with the international human rights system 30 National Action 8: Strengthen national networks of Human Rights Defenders 31 Part 4: Framework for Implementation 2 18 32 Methodology 33 Performance Indicator Framework 33