The Track(s) Ahead:
In view of the above, the quest for an effective regional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asia-Pacific region should follow these steps in the region's voyage of self-discovery:

1) invite sub-regional organizations from the Asia-Pacific region (particularly the Arab League, SAARC, ASEAN and Pacific Islands Forum) which are now exploring human rights initiatives to join the forthcoming Asia Pacific Workshop to be held in Beijing (2005) and network accordingly; before participating in the plenary with Asia-Pacific Governments at the Workshop, they should meet in a pre-sessional workshop of their own to share their experiences and coordinate with the OHCHR to discuss avenues for mutual engagement, possibly leading to Memoranda of Understanding to propel cooperation and bearing in mind the theme to be addressed at the Workshop (i.e. the human trafficking issue chosen for special attention in 2005);
2) expand the space for NGOs and national human rights institutions to participate in the Beijing workshop (preceded by the pre-sessional workshop(s) for these actors which have been taking place at the annual Asia-Pacific Workshops for the past few years);
3) move towards a rive-year programme for the Asia-Pacific region, sup­ported by the OHCHR and in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders;
4) initiate the five-year regional programme with the blessing of a high level/ministerial level workshop next year with strong commitment to the programme;
5) ensure that the five-year regional programme integrates and operationalizes the following:

• engage with those sub-regional organizations with human rights initiatives, especially to highlight the need for a machinery to review the human rights situation, provide redress where the national level is unable or unwilling to deliver justice, and support effective imple­mentation of human rights standards consistent with international law;
• continue to support the pillar on national human rights institutions and the APF network as part of the regional programme, based on a sustainable partnership relationship;
• shift the other three pillars of the current Asia-Pacific frame­work( i.e. on national human rights action plans, human rights education and economic/social/cultural rights/the right to development) to country programming, as appropriate, and interlink with the UNCT on a national and/or regional/sub-regional basis if countries wish to promote the pillars;
  
• use the regional framework to encourage States to accede to human rights treaties and implement them, as well as to follow-up hop(s) the various recommendations of the human rights treaty bodies and special procedures, in cooperation with the OHCHR presence
• enable actions to be planned and implemented with a variety of stakeholders - governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental, and in a spirit of UN inter-agency cooperation;
• report back on developments half way through the five-year cycle by holding a high level mid-term review workshop (about two and a half years after the cycle begins) and a final review workshop (at the end of the five years), without the need for annual Asia­-Pacific workshops;
• provide space , in-between the review workshops, for a variety of integrated actions, as appropriate, moving away from the ad hoc workshop style of the past, and share tasks well with a variety of stakeholders and the UNCT, especially UNDP, linked with capac­ity-building and follow-up for needed reforms and
  
• test all actions under the programme from the angle of sustainability in the promotion and protection of human rights, bearing in mind the presence of the UNCT, the value-added of each UN agency, and the general UN development planning cycle and related re­sources.
  

6) Support the decentralization process of the OHCHR to have sub­regional offices in the Asia-Pacific region with adequate back-up in terms of resources and personnel; the current Asia-Pacific regional OHCHR office in Bangkok should become the sub-regional office for South-east Asia; step-by­step, sub-regional offices should be set up for the Pacific (now approved to be set up in Fiji), South Asia, (South-)West Asia, North-east Asia and Central Asia;
7) Expand the OHCHR presence through national human rights advisers attached to the UNCT at the national level gradually in key countries and set up stand-alone offices , where appropriate, supported by the sub­regional offices; the latter could also have some thematic advisers attached to them to support the national advisers and OHCHR presence at the national level, e.g. on the issue of administration of justice reform;
a) Promote cooperation and complementarity between the OHCHR and UNCT, bearing in mind that a key value-added of the OHCHR is in regard to human rights protection - the protection of individuals and peoples from the negative impact of the human rights situation, and the encouragement of State and non-State actors to comply with international human rights standards;
9) Maximize the role of the OHCHR in relation to areas under its mandate where other UN agencies are unable or unwilling to tread, even though they are all now supposed to mainstream human rights into their program­ming, and ensure that the OHCHR acts as a check-and-balance to promote respect for human rights by the UN family;
10) Systematize the programming and implementation processes by mainstreaming a participatory, gender-sensitive and victim-responsive approach, with consistent monitoring, evaluation and follow-up, based upon effective preventive actions, protection of human rights and access to redress.