9 Effective promotion of programmes in areas such as education, health, housing, nutrition, social services and administration of justice, thereby enhancing the quality of life for all; 9 Reduced risk of catastrophic unrest and conflict that can have long-lasting adverse impacts on the State and its people; • A national action plan necessarily mobilizes a wide range of people and organizations in support of human rights activity. It therefore raises awareness and positive interest both within government and in the wider community; • A comprehensive and structured approach is more likely to ensure that the concerns of specific or vulnerable groups, such as women, children, minorities and indigenous peoples, are more effectively addressed; • A national action plan can facilitate the mobilization of domestic and international resources, including through United Nations and other programmes of technical cooperation, for countries that need resources, training and expertise to achieve their human rights goals; • National action planning takes an essentially non-confrontational approach to the consideration of human rights issues. By avoiding the recriminations that sometimes make human rights work more difficult, it may be possible to keep all relevant actors engaged in the task and cooperating more constructively. More specific purposes are: • To provide guidance to government officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), professional groups, educators, advocates and other members of civil society regarding the tasks that need to be accomplished to ensure that human rights are effectively observed and to promote cooperation among these groups; • To establish or strengthen national or issue-specific institutions dealing with human rights; • To promote the universal ratification of international human rights treaties, facilitate the effective observance by governments of their obligations and promote conformity of national legislation with international standards; • To promote wider awareness of human rights standards and mechanisms, including among those whose actions are particularly critical, such as police, security forces, prison staff and politicians as well as government officials and other workers in social fields; • To promote and maintain a high level of awareness of the state of human rights observance in the country; • To develop programmes specifically directed towards alleviating the human rights situations of vulnerable groups in society; 10