• The focal agency, which might be a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Ministry of Justice or an inter-institutional coordinating body; • Other relevant government agencies, which might include ministries responsible for police and the justice system, the interior, labour, education, health, women, social welfare, defence and the armed forces, finance, planning and development; • Security institutions such as the armed forces and police; • Relevant semi-governmental agencies, such as statutory authorities; • National human rights institutions, such as an independent human rights commission; • Human rights NGOs, including specialized organizations such as NGOs focusing on the rights of women and children; • Representative members of vulnerable groups; • Community organizations, particularly NGOs that may not normally be regarded as human rights organizations because they deal with social issues such as health, housing, education, development assistance, minorities, religious issues, asylumseekers, indigenous peoples and so on; • Members of the judiciary and jurists; • Trade unions and professional groups, including associations of teachers, lawyers, journalists and so on; • Human rights experts; • Academics and educators; • Representatives of research institutes; • The media; • Corporate representatives, including business and industry associations; • Private foundations. In addition, it may be useful in some situations to have representatives of international organizations as participants in the process, particularly where the development and implementation of the plan draws significantly on international technical cooperation. 5.4 The role of government and parliament An effective plan will require productive cooperation between government and civil society. The role of government is, however, crucial. The effective implementation of the plan will require the mobilization of political will, effective coordination across a wide range of government agencies, sustained effort over a substantial period of time, the allocation of sufficient resources and a dispassionate monitoring process. Each of these elements can be difficult to put into practice. Ensuring the implementation of all of them will be a challenge for those centrally involved in the relevant government agencies. The role of political parties and the parliament should also be emphasized. As part of the democratic process, governments change from time to time. The national action plan must nevertheless continue operating without interruption. It is therefore important to ensure that the plan enjoys the support of all major political parties so that its implementation is not adversely affected if governments change. To facilitate this, opposition parties may be included in the consultation process. A special effort should be made to involve parliamentarians from all parties who have an interest in 43