An International Conference on Gender Inclusiveness in National Human Rights Institutions concluded in Kathmandu on Thursday, issuing a nine-point declaration.

The Kathmandu Declaration calls on NHRIs, respective governments, UN agencies, private sectors, and the relevant stakeholders from the Asia Pacific region to respect, protect, and fulfil the human rights of all genders.

The stakeholders have been asked to ensure pluralistic and equitable representation and meaningful participation of all genders within NHRIs at all levels of operations and functions, promote accountability for human rights violations, and ensure the integration of a gender transformative approach in all NHRIs’ mandated functions.

The declaration called on to promote gender justice by taking specific actions and allocating resources aimed at achieving gender equality and inclusion, including to accommodate the impact of climate change and or other current and evolving crises and reviewing domestic legislations to provide policy guidance from a gender perspective in compliance with international human rights standards.

Likewise, stakeholders have been urged to review domestic legislation to provide policy guidance from a gender perspective in compliance with international human rights standards.

The representatives of the NHRIs from 19 of the 26 countries, who are members of the Asia Pacific Forum, an association of human rights organisations from the Asia Pacific region, attended the three-day conference.

The event that kicked off on September 3 is only the second international conference of its kind to be held in the Asia Pacific region. Earlier it was held in Amman, the capital of Jordan.