A/HRC/8/6 page 5 conditions are met: a solid normative framework, the political will to respect and apply those rules, and the ability of States to discharge their responsibility to protect and assist displaced persons. 11. In the light of these elements, the Representative is focusing in the first place on promoting the 1998 Guiding Principles and securing their incorporation into national legislation and policy. He works with governments and other partners to ensure that such legislation is in keeping with the international rules set out in the Guiding Principles. The Representative is also working with the Brookings-Bern project on internal displacement on the drafting of a handbook for legislators and decision-makers on the national implementation of these principles, which is to be published in the autumn of 2008 following a series of consultations with experts from government and civil society. At the regional level, the Representative also draws the attention of relevant organizations to the need to take account of the Guiding Principles when drawing up new conventions or new rules which may relate to aspects of internal displacement, as in work in the African Union to draft a convention on internal displacement. 12. In pursuit of his mandate, the Representative has also focused on the need to mobilize political will, especially through his ongoing dialogue with governments. Since his appointment in 2004, the Representative has carried out a dozen missions in Africa, America, Asia and Europe. He attaches great importance to following up the recommendations relating to his previous missions, or the pursuit of dialogue with governments in the context of his working visits. In many cases, he has been told that these missions had directly contributed to the adoption of positive measures to benefit displaced persons. 13. The Representative works to assist States to develop their capabilities to respond to their obligation to protect and assist displaced persons. He provides a wealth of technical advice in the drafting of legislation, policies, strategies or action plans to benefit displaced persons. He has also developed tools to guide the various parties involved in their activities: a Framework for national responsibility in 2005;7 operational guidelines on human rights and natural disasters, which were endorsed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee in 2006;8 and a conceptual framework on durable solutions in 2007.9 Lastly, the Representative organizes an annual course on internal displacement for government officials. 14. The Representative is also working on mainstreaming the fundamental rights of displaced persons into the activities of all the competent agencies of the United Nations system. He is involved in particular in institutional machinery such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee or the cluster working groups on protection and early recovery. He gives priority to 7 E/CN.4/2006/71/Add.1. 8 Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Protecting Persons Affected by Natural Disasters: IASC Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters, Washington DC, juin 2006. 9 Brookings Institution-University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement, When Displacement Ends: A Framework for Durable Solutions, Washington DC, juin 2007.