Asia Pacific Forum

What Asia Pacific Forum does

The Asia Pacific Forum (APF) is a non-profit membership network of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) across the Asia Pacific, headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1996 by four founding full members (Australia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines), APF has grown to 26 members — 18 full members compliant with the Paris Principles and 8 associate members — spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The organization's mission is to support the establishment and strengthening of NHRIs so that they can independently protect and promote human rights in their respective jurisdictions. APF operates under a five-year Strategic Plan covering 2022-2027, which sets out four strategic goals guiding its programs.

APF's core offering is a portfolio of capacity-development services delivered directly to member NHRIs and the governments and civil society partners around them. These services include capacity development training, capacity assessments (e.g., for the Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan), international accreditation support via GANHRI, legal and policy advice, gender mainstreaming programs (regional Gender Baseline Assessment, gender audits for Sri Lanka and Fiji), and thematic programs on human rights defenders, torture prevention (with APT), environment and climate change, business and human rights, reproductive rights, disability rights, SOGISC rights, and children's rights. Two digital platforms — the APF Library (library.asiapacificforum.net) and the APF Community (community.asiapacificforum.net) — serve as knowledge and collaboration infrastructure for the network. APF does not sell software or commercial products; its "technology" footprint is limited to these community and content resources.

The organization's business model is grant-and-membership funded rather than commercial. Revenue is derived from membership contributions by NHRIs and from project funding from international donors including the European Union (NHRI.EU Project Phase II), UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, and OHCHR, with these partners serving as both funders and technical collaborators. APF reaches members and the broader human rights community through a multi-channel engagement model: a website, monthly newsletter bulletin, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and YouTube for digital outreach, alongside annual general meetings (the 30th AGM is scheduled for November 2025 in Fiji), biennial conferences, high-level dialogues for newly appointed Commissioners, thematic workshops, and training programs. Governance is exercised by a Governance Committee elected from among member NHRIs, and the secretariat is led by Executive Director Thuy Doan-Smith, appointed in January 2026.

Name

Asia Pacific Forum

Legal name

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions

Website

https://asiapacificforum.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Asia Pacific Forum (APF) is a Sydney-based non-profit network of 26 National Human Rights Institutions across the Asia Pacific, founded in 1996. It provides capacity development, accreditation support, legal and policy advice, and thematic programs to strengthen member NHRIs, funded by membership contributions and grants from the EU, UN agencies, and other international partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Institutional Support

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Business Associations (813910), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Human rights institutions
• Capacity development programs
• NHRI accreditation support
• Gender equality programs
• Human rights defender protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: APF operates as a membership-based network with National Human Rights Institutions as members. The organization is supported through membership contributions and operates with a 5-year Strategic Plan (2022-2027).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Asia Pacific Forum is a membership-based non-profit network that supports the establishment and strengthening of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) across the Asia Pacific. It delivers capacity development training, international accreditation support (through GANHRI), capacity assessments, and legal and policy advice to its 26 member institutions (18 full members and 8 associate members). It also operates thematic programs on gender equality, human rights defender protection, torture prevention, climate change, business and human rights, disability rights, and children's rights.

Product overview

The Asia Pacific Forum operates as a network organization supporting National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), offering programs and services rather than a traditional technology product. The organization provides a suite of support services including capacity development training, international accreditation support, capacity assessments, and advisory expertise. The APF Library and APF Community serve as digital platforms supporting knowledge sharing and collaboration among member institutions. The organization does not offer a commercial software product but rather functions as a coordinating and capacity-building body for human rights institutions across the Asia Pacific region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• APF Library A digital library platform that serves as an extensive repository of legal resources, NHRI publications, UN submissions, and APF publications for the Asia Pacific region. It supports knowledge sharing among member National Human Rights Institutions.
• APF Community An online learning and collaboration space connecting National Human Rights Institutions across the Asia Pacific region.

Quantifiable outcome

• NHRIs of Nepal and Timor Leste retain A-status accreditation with APF support (2024-25)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UN Women to provide additional support and technical assistance for APF member NHRIs, particularly in promoting and monitoring gender equality. UN Women collaborates with APF on gender mainstreaming programs and initiatives.
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UNFPA to provide technical assistance for APF member NHRIs on reproductive rights and gender-related issues. UNFPA supports APF's gender equality programming.
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPF facilitates Capacity Assessment of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic in partnership with UNDP and OHCHR. UNDP provides funding and technical support for capacity assessment activities.
• OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with OHCHR for capacity assessments of NHRIs, including the Kyrgyz Republic Ombudsman assessment. OHCHR provides international human rights expertise and standards alignment.
• Danish Institute for Human RightssupportingTechnology or IntegrationThe Right to Defend Rights data tool was originally developed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights and adapted by APF for use by member NHRIs to monitor and report on the situation of human rights defenders.
• Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPF partners with APT to deliver workshops on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, particularly for Sri Lanka's NHRI and other member institutions.
• Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human RightssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPF collaborates with the Geneva Academy on virtual dialogues on digitalisation, emerging technologies, and human rights, hosted with Mongolia's NHRI.
• GANHRI (Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPF supports members through the GANHRI accreditation process. Members undergo regular review by GANHRI's Subcommittee on Accreditation (SCA) to assess compliance with Paris Principles.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI): African regional NHRI network providing capacity development and peer support to African NHRIs. Operates as a direct regional peer to APF with a similar mandate and member-based funding model.
• Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI): Global umbrella of NHRI networks that accredits member institutions through the Subcommittee on Accreditation. APF supports members through the GANHRI accreditation process, making it the direct global counterpart.
• European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI): Regional network of European NHRIs that performs the same capacity-building, peer exchange, and accreditation support role as APF, but for the European region. Closest structural analogue to APF.

Broad incumbents

• International Commission of Jurists (ICJ): Global human rights organization working on rule of law and NHRI capacity. Comparable as a larger incumbent offering thematic expertise that overlaps with APF's legal and policy advisory mandate.
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): UN body that sets international human rights standards and supports NHRIs globally. A core strategic partner of APF and the dominant institutional actor in the same overall ecosystem.
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme): Core strategic partner of APF, funding and co-delivering NHRI capacity assessments (e.g., Kyrgyz Republic Ombudsman). Comparable as a development actor supporting governance and rights institutions.
• UN Women: UN entity that funds and co-designs gender equality programming with APF. Operates upstream as a donor and thematic counterpart in the same gender-and-human-rights agenda.

Emerging players

• Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights: Academic-policy institution collaborating with APF on virtual dialogues on digitalisation, emerging technologies, and human rights. Comparable as a knowledge-production partner serving NHRIs.
• Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT): Thematic NGO partnering with APF to deliver torture-prevention workshops for NHRIs (e.g., Sri Lanka). Operates in the same capacity-building niche with overlapping beneficiary institutions.
• Danish Institute for Human Rights: An 'A status' NHRI that develops practical human rights tools (including the 'Right to Defend Rights' data tool later adapted by APF). Comparable as an NHRI producing capacity-building resources for peer institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/APFHumanRights
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AsiaPacificForum
• Facebookfacebook.com/asiapacificforum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asia-pacific-forum-of-national-human-rights-institutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Asia Pacific Forum