• 2.5 To emphasize the role of human rights in national development. What has been done since Vienna? Australia was the first country to elaborate a national human rights action plan. This plan, covering the five-year period 1994-1998, was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its fiftieth session in early 1994. Since then plans have also been finalized by the Governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Indonesia, Latvia, Malawi, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and Venezuela.5 Other countries have initiated the process of developing a national action plan. They include Cape Verde, Jordan, Mongolia and Nepal. The plans that have been developed so far vary considerably in scope and approach. They are described in chapter 4 below. Simultaneously with the work undertaken at the national level, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and governments have also taken action in the framework of the United Nations human rights programme. One of the first regional workshops on human rights national plans was convened in Bangkok, Thailand, from 5 to 7 July 1999. An important part of the background documentation for that workshop was a “Compendium of National Plans of Action” reproducing the text of plans that had been drawn to the attention of OHCHR.6 The Bangkok Workshop adopted an important set of conclusions on the subject, including a set of Possible elements to facilitate the development of national action plans for the promotion and protection of human rights.7 The “Possible elements” set out general directions and purposes for national action plans and proposed steps for the development of a plan: • Establishment of a national coordinating committee; • Preparation of a baseline study of the state of human rights in the country concerned; • Selection of components of a national plan; • Development of priorities and strategies; • Drafting of the plan; • Implementation of the plan; • Monitoring and revision. The conclusions of the Eighth Workshop on Regional Cooperation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region, held in Beijing from 1 to 3 March 2000, reaffirmed the desirability of developing national human rights plans of action and endorsed the dissemination of this Handbook. 5 These are national action plans that have come to the attention of OHCHR. There may be others that have not yet been drawn to its attention. 6 Accessible from the OHCHR web site: www.ohchr.org/html/menu6/apw.htm. 7 Accessible from the OHCHR website: www.ohchr.org/html/menu6/bgkcncls.htm#annex. 11