A/HRC/15/39 Annex Bangkok Action Points adopted by Member States on 23 April 2010 Expressing appreciation to the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand for hosting the 15th Workshop of the Framework on Regional Cooperation for the Protection of Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Welcoming the participation of representatives from 30 Member States and observers from across the Asia-Pacific region in this workshop; Expressing appreciation to the representatives of national human rights institutions, international organizations, civil society and resource persons for their inputs to the workshop; Welcoming the activities by national human rights institutions in support of regional cooperation, including those with the support of the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Welcoming the evolutionary development of new regional mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights, particularly the establishment of the Arab Human Rights Committee under the Arab Charter on Human Rights, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights under the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, as well as the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s deliberations on the establishment of an independent human rights commission and the initiatives in SAARC to further promote cooperation on the rights of women and children; Noting the Human Rights Council’s continued support for the development of regional human rights arrangements, most recently in resolutions 6/25 and 12/15; Member States: a. Reaffirm their commitment to developing and strengthening national capacities for the promotion and protection of human rights, in accordance with the Tehran Framework for Regional Technical Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region; b. Welcome the emerging regional human rights infrastructure in the AsiaPacific region and the development of new regional human rights mechanisms, as well as the Asia-Pacific countries’ active engagement in the UPR process, encourage more regular exchange of experiences which could be undertaken through the workshop and possible intersessional activities, and request OHCHR and other relevant United Nations agencies to provide technical assistance in this regard upon request; c. Note that the on-going evolution of the human rights system within SouthEast Asia, particularly the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, highlights the opportunities for initiatives by countries to work toward the development of subregional human rights mechanisms which are an essential building block for broader human rights arrangements for the Asia-Pacific region; d. Recognize that regional arrangements play a fundamental role in promoting and protecting human rights. While evolving in different forms in different regional contexts, they should reinforce universal human rights standards, such as those contained in international human rights instruments and international humanitarian law; 12