standards of life in larger freedom” is to be made a reality. The proponents of the national action plan concept started from the premiss that all share in the challenge to improve human rights observance. On that basis, they believed it should be possible for governments and others to address problems that all face to some degree in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation, just as in other fields such as economic development. The basic idea endorsed by the World Conference was thus that a country would recognize that it faced a challenge to improve its human rights observance. It would start from its current situation, whatever that might be, and articulate a comprehensive and pragmatic programme of activities aimed at progressively bringing about improvements. Many elements of such a programme cannot be put in place overnight. However, the first step towards setting a useful process in motion is to encourage the will to bring about change. The recommendations of the World Conference are one element in providing this encouragement. Also important is wider support for the approach from other members of the international community. This can come from the example set by countries that have already begun national action planning, and from the adoption of resolutions by the United Nations and other international and regional organizations. It can also come from advocacy on the part of civil society and the provision of technical cooperation, both through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and bilaterally. 2.4 Purposes and benefits of national plans The fundamental purpose of a national human rights action plan is to improve the promotion and protection of human rights in a particular country. It does this by placing human rights improvements in the context of public policy, so that governments and communities can endorse human rights improvements as practical goals, devise programmes to ensure the achievement of these goals, engage all relevant sectors of government and society, and allocate sufficient resources. The benefits of this approach as compared with less comprehensive or systematic approaches include the following: • A national action plan should stimulate a more comprehensive assessment of needs in the country concerned and, by making plans explicit both to the government itself and to the general public, can generate a commitment to achievement that would not otherwise exist; • National action plans are practical in orientation: they set achievable targets and propose realistic activities aimed at reaching these objectives; • National action plans can be a tool of sound public administration and governance, leading to: 9 A stronger rule of law, enhancing management of the State and economic performance as well as the rights of citizens; 9 Promotion of national cohesion by encouraging an environment of tolerance, harmony and common purpose even where there is diversity; 9