A/HRC/4/38 page 11 II. PROMOTING AND DEVELOPING THE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK 35. Pursuant to his mandate, the Representative has been actively promoting and supporting efforts to strengthen the normative framework for the protection of the human rights of the internally displaced persons. A. Benchmarks on durable solutions 36. In this regard, the Representative presented the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, with a conceptual framework containing criteria benchmarks to help determine how and when IDPs are no longer to be considered as displaced in need of assistance or protection. This initially seemed a relatively straightforward task as the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement had been finalized and included a framework for determining displacement and related needs. 37. However, in the course of an inclusive consultative process, it became clear that the ending of internal displacement is a complex process which usually does not end at a specific point in time in the same way that refugee status does through a cessation clause. Rather, ending displacement is a process through which the need for particular assistance and protection diminishes. Sometimes, for long periods after return, those who have been displaced may find themselves in markedly different circumstances and with different needs than those who never left their home communities. Even in the context of a durable peace agreement, insecurity may continue to pose problems for uprooted populations, particularly if there are resentments and conflicts between returnees or resettled populations and the already resident population. Sometimes, human rights problems faced by returnees that are linked to their having been displaced, such as lack of documentation, violation of property rights, lack of access to justice, or discrimination, may linger on, years after the humanitarian crisis that had made the presence of international humanitarian agencies necessary has ended. Thus, it may be necessary to distinguish between the time when assistance and protection by international humanitarian organizations is no longer needed and the issue of continuing protection and assistance needs of IDPs that must be met by the Government concerned. Indeed, persons no longer considered internally displaced by the international community may have protection and assistance needs requiring attention by their Government. 38. Therefore, it was decided that it would be appropriate to develop benchmarks to assist international agencies, NGOs and IDPs themselves to determine whether durable solutions to internal displacement have been found and, if not, to identify what is still required towards reaching that goal. Such benchmarks would also help humanitarian organizations with specific mandates for assisting and protecting IDPs to determine if an individual’s displacement remains a reason for garnering special attention or whether the needs they have should be addressed by other actors - for example, development agencies or national agencies in a more comprehensive community-based approach. 39. To determine whether and to what extent a durable solution has been achieved it is necessary to examine both the processes through which solutions are found and the actual conditions of the returnees/resettled persons. In general, it is important to consider whether