A/HRC/10/13 page 7 Representative’s observations from four years of missions - particularly because disregard for the rights of IDPs is most often neither intentional nor on the face of it discriminatory. Rather, it may result from the fact that IDPs have particular needs and vulnerabilities that are insufficiently recognized or accommodated in existing law or policy. 15. The manual is addressed to national policymakers, competent ministries, legislators and civil society groups. Legislators and legal experts from national Governments will be invited to participate in regional training seminars that will take place in the course of 2009. 16. In collaboration with the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in Sanremo, the Brookings-Bern Project, and interested donors, the Representative hopes to continue to offer his annual course on the law of internal displacement to train high-level military and civil government officials from different parts of the world. This year the course was conducted in French. Participants from sub-Saharan Africa, Algeria, Haiti and Lebanon appreciated the opportunity to study in one of their working languages. 17. In conclusion, the Representative notes substantial progress achieved in the last 10 years in strengthening the normative framework necessary to effectively protect the rights of IDPs and to provide them with assistance. Nevertheless, he remains concerned that many countries affected by internal displacement have not yet adopted laws and policies in line with the Guiding Principles; nor have they established institutional arrangements that are sufficient to fulfil their primary responsibility under international law to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to IDPs within their jurisdiction (Guiding Principle 3). Furthermore, even where they do exist, significant gaps often exist between the texts of laws and policies and their implementation in practice. The Representative remains committed to supporting all Governments seeking to meet these responsibilities. B. Protecting the human rights of persons displaced by natural disaster 18. Faced with the disasters caused by the 2004 tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, hurricane Katrina and the knowledge that ever more people will be displaced by disasters caused by climate change, the Representative has placed increased emphasis on the human rights protection of persons displaced in natural disasters. This has included both a review of existing normative frameworks and an examination of how operational response mechanisms address the human rights challenges arising in this context. He also carried out a series of working visits to countries particularly affected by hydro-meteorological disasters to review disaster management, responses and prevention in as far as they relate to the persons displaced by these disasters, and he conducted several national and regional training sessions. 19. An addendum to this report18 provides a comprehensive summary of the Representative’s activities, findings and conclusions regarding the protection of persons displaced as a result of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN-Habitat, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization, as well as the authors of the background studies that informed the manual. 18 A/HRC/10/13/Add.1.