Murmu to inaugurate Conference of NHRIs of Asia Pacific on Sept 20

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the Biennial Conference of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) of Asia Pacific on September 20, 2023, in New Delhi, an official statement issued by NHRC said on Thursday. The conference is being organized by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) on September 20-21, 2023. The Asia Pacific Forum will also hold its 28th Annual General Meeting on September 20, 2023, to discuss the issues of common interest to member countries.

NHRC said that more than 1,300 delegates from India and abroad are likely to participate in the conference. "The conference will be attended by Heads, members and senior officials of the National Human Rights Institutions of 23 countries and 5 observer countries along with representatives from the Union and state governments, State Human Rights Commissions, Special Rapporteurs, Monitors, various institutions involved in the protection and promotion of human rights in the country, members of civil society and NGOs, human right defenders, lawyers, jurists, academicians, diplomats, representatives of UN agencies, academic institutions, etc.

Earlier, in 2002 and 2014, such an AGM of Asia Pacific Forum and conference was held in India," an official statement said. "On 21st September 2023, the Biennial Conference will mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UNDHR). It will also celebrate 30 years of National Human Rights Institutions and the Paris Principles, with a sub-theme on the environment and climate change," it added.

During the conference, three plenary sessions on the themes ‘Setting the Scene-30 Years of Promoting and Protecting Human Rights across Asia and the Pacific’; ‘Advancing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Promise of Freedom, Equality, and Justice for All’; and ‘The role of NHRIs in responding to and mitigating the human rights impacts of climate change-national, regional, and international actions’, will be held. NHRC said that the Biennial Conference also aims to provide an opportunity for sharing good practices to support communities to respond to human rights impacted by climate change.

A separate session on ‘Business and Human Rights’ will also be held in partnership with UNDP, which will be attended by the representatives of business and industry, workers' organizations and associations, various ministries, departments, statutory organizations, UN agencies, human rights defenders, NGOs, etc. In this session issues related to the human rights of workers in various businesses and professions will be discussed. The APF is one of the four regional NHRI networks, including Africa, NANHRI; Americas, RINDHCA; and Europe, ENNHRI, part of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).

The NHRC, India, has been a valued partner of the APF as an independent and autonomous ‘A’ status NHRI, fully compliant with the Paris Principles. The year also marks 30 years of the existence of NHRC, India.