A/HRC/4/38 page 20 V. CAPACITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH 74. The Representative continues to carry out a number of capacity-building initiatives, as he considers the dissemination and promotion of the human rights of internally displaced persons to be key in carrying out his mandate. Training 75. From 2 to 7 October 2006, the Representative led a week-long course on the Law of Internal Displacement at the Institute of International Humanitarian Law at San Remo. Twenty-seven participants from 20 different countries attended the seminar, including government officials, United Nations and NGO representatives, legislators and scholars. The purpose of the course was to build national capacity by: promoting understanding of the legal and normative framework on IDPs; providing a forum for dialogue and exchange of national laws and policies on IDPs; and developing tools for the implementation of laws and policies. Once more, the Representative was encouraged by the positive feedback received by the participants. The next course will take place in June 2007. 76. The Representative was invited to present the Guiding Principles and the Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters in a training that was organized by ECOWAS to kick-start the creation of emergency response teams for the humanitarian work of the organization, and which took place in Ghana from 5 to 17 November 2006. Over 40 participants from all ECOWAS countries, including Mauritania, were present. 77. The Brookings-Bern Project, of which the Representative is co-director, participated in training on the implementation of the Turkish compensation law in Mersin, Turkey from 15 to 20 June 2006. The training was held by the Ministry of Interior and UNDP, and attended by members of the local Commissions charged with applying the law. Brookings-Bern underlined the importance of full implementation of the law in providing a durable solution to Turkey’s IDPs. Research and studies 78. In collaboration with the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, of which he is co-director, the Representative continues to undertake and commission a wide range of policy-oriented research on IDPs and related issues. 79. A consultant was commissioned to prepare a report on the displacement effects of rising sectarian violence in Iraq. Based on fieldwork, the report concluded that: the social and demographic makeup of many Iraqi cities is beginning to change as a result of displacement; the chances of significant return movements are limited; almost one quarter of a million people have been displaced in 2006 alone and there exists a wide variety of displacement patterns. The report was published and disseminated by the Brookings-Bern Project and attracted widespread media coverage internationally.6