NIHR is Unanimously Adopted as an Associate Member in Asia and Pacific Forum
The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) in the Kingdom of Bahrain was unanimously accepted as an associate member in the Asia and Pacific Forum (APF) during APF’s 21st annual meeting held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
The NIHR’s Vice chairperson Mr. Abdullah Al-Derazi delivered a speech in which he thanked members of the forum and emphasized the NIHR’s support to the APF’s objectives and its willingness to cooperate with all the members to enhance and protect human rights. During the meeting, the NIHR in Iraq was also accepted as an associate member in the forum.
The panel reviewed APF’s report on the non-implementation of the death penalty and trend of several countries of the region thereon. The Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee in Mongolia talked about the experience of his country in the abolition of the death penalty in 2010. In addition, a number of national institutions revealed their experiences in this regard.
During the meeting, the panel approved a number of recommendations related to the statute of the APF on mechanism of voting and determining the number of members of the board of directors. Representative of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) further presented a brief on the work of the alliance as well as recent developments of its issues on statute modifications, women support and achievement of the sustainable development objectives.
At the end of the meeting, APF’s financial report was approved. The panel decided to hold next APF’s 22nd annual meeting and general conference in Kabul, the capital of Afghan. The meeting was attended by Chairperson of Complaints, Monitoring and Follow-up Committee in the Board of Commissioners Ms. Maria Khouri and Counsellor-at-law Mr. Yasser Shaheen Vice, NIHR’s Acting Secretary General.
