A/HRC/4/38 page 6 the United Nations Country Team and hosted by the Government of Uganda. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the national policy on IDPs, which was adopted in 2004, and the challenges to its implementation, and to consider how best to respond to those challenges. Over 100 participants attended, including representatives of national and local government, the military and police, the Uganda Human Rights Commission, local and international NGOs, United Nations and other international agencies, donors and IDPs themselves. The recommendations included better coordination between central and local government; wider dissemination of the national policy; increased resources for its implementation; and wider participation of IDPs in carrying out the policy. 13. At the time of the visit, the relative improvement in security in the north in the first half of 2006 had allowed a number of IDPs to move closer to their fields or even to return to their homes in certain districts. Nonetheless, the Representative was concerned that serious humanitarian and human rights problems persisted, including poor health and sanitation conditions; lack of access to education; and high levels of sexual and gender-based violence. While recognizing the role of the security forces in ensuring protection of civilians in northern Uganda, the Representative heard testimonies of prevailing institutional impunity for human rights violations, also involving members of the Uganda People’s Defence Force and local defence units. 14. The Representative urged the Ugandan authorities, humanitarian agencies and donors to step up their efforts to assist the displaced and to protect their human rights. He concluded that there was a dire need to shift the responsibility to uphold law and order from the Uganda People’s Defence Force back to civilian authorities and to deploy sufficient numbers of trained civilian police in all parts of northern Uganda. To provide meaningful access to justice in the north, the Government must rebuild and strengthen a virtually non-existent judiciary. Local governments, which are largely charged with implementing the IDP policy, must be allocated adequate human and financial resources to fulfil their obligations in this regard. In addition, to ensure that return is sustainable because decisions related to protection, assistance and remedial efforts are responsive to the needs of IDPs, local governments and traditional community leaders must be more fully consulted in the ongoing return process. 15. The Representative elaborated on these observations and recommendations in a letter addressed to President Museveni dated 28 July 2006. Addressing the substantive and procedural elements supporting sustainable return, the Representative noted that in addition to security, access to land would be a precondition for return, particularly for female- and child-headed households. He recommended that new or reinforced mechanisms be created to resolve potential land disputes. 16. The Representative is encouraged by the developments in Uganda since his visit, in particular the peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army and the ensuing return movements taking place in northern Uganda. He calls on the negotiating parties to fully safeguard the rights of the displaced persons in the envisaged peace agreement.