Figure 10 – Linkages between national plans Development Women Human rights Children Human Rights Education 8.8 Time frames Time frames enter into the national action plan process in two ways. One is the time frame for the plan as a whole; the other is the timing for each of its individual components. Overall time frame The time frames for national action plans to date have ranged from two, three, five or ten years to an indefinite period. As the aim in national action planning is to promote a more systematic approach to human rights policy and to provide a stimulus to action, it is desirable to propose specific time frames in a plan for the achievement of its objectives. There should also be a time frame for the plan as a whole so that government and civil society have a global frame of reference for assessing the plan’s achievements and shortcomings. For the overall time frame, the plan should allow enough time for the necessary administrative, resource, educational and infrastructure measures to be put in place for some of the objectives to be achieved. The time frame should not therefore be too short. Equally, the time frame should not be so long that a sense of continuity or overall perspective is difficult to maintain. A period of five years is often chosen for economic plans and this also seems reasonable for a national human rights action plan. It may be useful to link the time frame for the human rights action plan 69