A/HRC/8/6 page 14 still displaced as a result of this disaster. This visit formed part of a series of visits to various regions planned in 2008 and 2009 to seek better understanding of the challenges posed by natural disasters in terms of the protection of persons displaced by such disasters and engage the authorities and civil society in a dialogue with a view to the adoption of a human rights-based response to such disasters. 52. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), over 64,000 families are still occupying temporary housing following this disaster. During his visit, the Representative went to Houston (Texas) and New Orleans. He held discussions with government officials and the American Red Cross, local elected officials, members of civil society and displaced persons. 53. The visit showed that, despite the great generosity of communities, the main challenges for most of the displaced persons he met continue to relate to access to decent housing at affordable prices, access to jobs, the very low level of their incomes, and poor prospects in the medium and long term. Durable solutions have not yet been found to the situation of the displaced persons, owing in part to the lack of reconstruction plans properly focused on the needs of such people, particularly the most deprived of them, including those living in social housing, who do not have the funds required to rebuild their houses or do not meet the conditions for government aid, and consequently feel marginalized. In order to tackle these problems, the Representative chaired several workshops together with municipal officials and representatives of the various affected communities in order to draw their attention to the Guiding Principles and the conceptual framework on durable solutions and invite them to consider the applicability of these tools in the context of post-Katrina reconstruction. Implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 4/8: the Group of Experts on the Sudan 54. During the period under review, the Representative participated in the work of the group of experts11 as Rapporteur. This group was requested by the Human Rights Council “to work with the Government of the Sudan, the appropriate human rights mechanisms of the African Union and to closely consult with the Chairman of the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation to ensure the effective follow-up and to foster the implementation of resolutions and recommendations on Darfur, as adopted by the Human Rights Council, the Commission on Human Rights and other United Nations human rights institutions as well as to promote the implementation of relevant recommendations of other United Nations human rights mechanisms, taking into account the needs of the Sudan in this regard, to safeguard the consistency of these 11 Les membres du groupe sont: Mme Radhika Coomaraswamy, Représentante spéciale du Secrétaire général pour les enfants et les conflits armés, M. Philip Alston, Rapporteur spécial sur les exécutions extrajudiciaires, sommaires ou arbitraires, Mme Hina Jilani, Représentante spéciale du Secrétaire général concernant la situation des défenseurs des droits de l’homme, M. Walter Kälin, Représentant du Secrétaire général pour les droits de l’homme des personnes déplacées dans leur propre pays, M. Manfred Nowak, Rapporteur spécial sur la question de la torture et autres traitements ou peines cruels, inhumains ou dégradants, et Mme Yakin Ertürk, Rapporteuse spéciale sur la violence contre les femmes, ses causes et ses conséquences.