representative members of vulnerable groups. Some representation from the business sector is desirable. In some cases, the public profile of the committee may be enhanced if it includes film, television, music or sports personalities. In some situations, such as where a plan is being developed with substantial international technical cooperation, it may be appropriate to include an international observer. Chairperson The chairperson of the committee should be an effective spokesperson for the national action plan and for human rights promotion generally. The chair will have an important role to play during all phases of the plan’s preparation. Whether the chairperson is elected by other members or appointed, it may be desirable for the incumbent to be a political figure, possibly a minister, to ensure a profile within government for the development, launch and implementation of the national action plan. It would also be desirable to have a vice-chairperson drawn from the NGO community. Sectoral working groups; other committees In order to ensure representation from relevant organizations and to mobilize effectively the available expertise, it will probably be necessary to establish subcommittees or “sectoral working groups” to deal with specific themes within the plan. There will be many government agencies and non-governmental organizations involved in implementing the plan and it will probably not be practical to have more than those with broad responsibilities on the coordinating committee itself. Issuespecific subcommittees would ensure that they were substantially involved in the process and that their input could be channelled directly to the coordinating committee. It would therefore be desirable to establish such sectoral working groups, which would be responsible for needs assessment, drafting of the plan and monitoring with regard to specific sectoral issues covered in the national action planning process. Such issues could include health, education, housing, juvenile justice, prisoner administration, refugees and many other issues. The sectoral working groups would be under the supervision of and would report to the coordinating committee. The range of committees established to steer the development of the plan should be kept under review so that the institutional structure is appropriate to the needs of the task. There may be a need to establish new structures or to discontinue existing ones in response to changing circumstances. These bodies should be monitored carefully by the coordinating committee to ensure economy of resources and time. In the initial stages of developing the plan, the coordinating committee should take a strong directive role so that the process can quickly develop momentum. The coordinating committee should ensure a rich flow of input from civil society and government agencies as well as the dissemination of accurate information to those directly involved and the general public. It is probably also desirable for both the government and the NGO community to have separate additional committees to handle matters specific to their own spheres of activity. Such matters might include, on the government side, the development of 46