A/HRC/29/34 Requests for country visits 10. Since his previous report, the Special Rapporteur has made or reiterated requests to visit Colombia, Iraq, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines and the Syrian Arab Republic. C. Cooperation with regional and international organizations 11. The Special Rapporteur engaged closely with the African Union to promote ratification and implementation of the Kampala Convention. He visited the African Union headquarters in March 2014 to activate a joint continent-wide action plan on implementation of the Convention. He called upon States parties to establish or strengthen internal mechanisms promoting the engagement and participation of local authorities, communities, civil society organizations and the private sector. In November 2014, as keynote speaker at the African Union Humanitarian Symposium in Nairobi, he discussed effective humanitarian interventions and assistance in conflict-induced displacement situations. In December 2014, he took stock of and urged greater progress on the Convention at an event organized by the Permanent Delegation of the African Union to the United Nations Office at Geneva marking the second anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention. 12. In July 2014, the Special Rapporteur participated in a joint initiative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including delegations from participating States, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to promote a more collaborative approach to addressing displacement, using the Protection Checklist elaborated jointly by OSCE, UNHCR and his mandate. The Checklist is a tool for ensuring the protection of displaced populations and affected communities at all stages of a conflict. He also informed the OSCE participating delegations of his findings in OSCE States affected by displacement. 13. The Special Rapporteur maintained a strong partnership with civil society organizations. Among such collaboration, he appreciates the support provided by the Brookings-London School of Economics Project on Internal Displacement, and the strategic partnership with the Joint IDP Profiling Service, the Danish Refugee Council and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Civil society has played a vital role in supporting him, including during his country visits. D. Mainstreaming the human rights of internally displaced persons in the United Nations system 14. The Special Rapporteur continued to support the mainstreaming of the human rights of IDPs within the United Nations system and the wider humanitarian community by participating actively in the work of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the Global Protection Cluster and the humanitarian affairs segment of the Economic and Social Council. He drew on his recent missions to illustrate the importance of humanitarian principles in responding to the protection and assistance needs of IDPs, both in the emergency phase of conflicts and in the search for durable solutions. 15. In May 2014, the Special Rapporteur addressed the Security Council in an “Arria formula” meeting on “Protection of internally displaced persons: challenges and role of the Security Council”,2 focusing on common goals of the Council and its partners, inter 2 Available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/SP/ArriaFormula_SC_on_protection_of_IDPs.pdf. 5