Description
While many countries seek to improve their capacity to protect and promote human rights in accordance with constitutional imperatives and Commonwealth values, they often lack a clear roadmap on how to do so.
Currently, there is no single and easy-to-use model which Commonwealth countries can use as a basis for planning the process. This guide will particularly useful for those in smaller countries who wish to develop a human rights plan.
The action plan makes three key points: first that full public participation in the development of a national action plan is key to a successful outcome, secondly that putting the plan into operation need not mean adding another bureaucratic layer to government, and thirdly that the model is a model only, and not intended to be prescriptive.
Contents
Foreword by the Commonwealth Secretary-General
Preface
Part I – Commonwealth Values
– Values, Principles and Standards
– Putting Principles into Practice
– The Commonwealth Secretariat
Part II – The Commonwealth Model National Plan of Action on Human Rights
1. Rationale: why the need for a National Action Plan (NAP)?
1.1 Significance of national level protection
1.2 The need for a NAP
1.3 The purpose of a NAP
1.4 The context for a NAP
1.5 NAPs and existing national plans and policies
1.6 Why a NAP? The benefits of a NAP
1.7 The need for a Commonwealth Model NAP
2. The Process – developing a NAP
3. The Content – model issues for a NAP
A. Norms and Standards
B. International and Regional Instruments and Systems
C. National Mechanisms and an Enabling Environment
D. Human Rights Education and Awareness
4. Implementation of a NAP: challenges and opportunities
5. Monitoring and Evaluation of NAP activities and targets
Part III – Links
– Information on assistance available in producing and implementing a NAP