A/HRC/4/WG.3/6 page 23 Guiding Principles cover a broad range of the human rights of displaced persons and proclaim that the Principles shall be applied without discrimination of any kind. They address protection from displacement, the situation during displacement, humanitarian assistance, as well as return, resettlement and reintegration. The reporting guidelines adopted by CERD only refer to the situation of displaced persons.58 Assessment and recommendations 69. Although the conventional mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established to deal with the situation of refugees, in practice, on the basis of relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and directives of the Executive Committee, UNHCR has extended its operational mandate and field of competence to cover IDPs as well. 70. Normatively, the Guiding Principles have been accepted as a set of standards by an increasing number of States, United Nations agencies, as well as regional organization, and are applied as such. This and the interpretation by CERD of its mandate as also covering the situation of IDPs prompt the experts to the conclusion that for the time being there is no need for further standard setting in this regard. However, with a view to strengthening the protection of IDPs, the experts recommend the General Assembly to uphold the call of the Commission on Human Rights for the observance and implementation of the Guiding Principles as standards. In such a resolution, the General Assembly may wish to stress the importance of the protection of IDPs against racism and xenophobia. D. Descent-based communities 71. Descent-based discrimination has historically been a feature of societies in different regions of the world and is manifested in various forms of injustice. It is estimated that 260 million people worldwide are affected by such discrimination. Its persistence and the urgent need to remedy its consequences have resulted in Governments of many countries recognizing the complexity of this problem and adopting legislation and policies to confront it. 72. The DDPA recognizes in several provisions that racism and xenophobia based on descent constitute major contemporary human rights challenges.59 Following on the recommendations of the DDPA, the Commission on Human Rights established in its resolution 2002/68 a Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent composed of five independent experts to study the problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent. 58 59 CERD/C/70/Rev.5. Para. 103 of the Durban Declaration. See also paras 2, 13, 14, 32 - 38, 103 and 111 of the Declaration and paras 4 - 14, 45, 50, 72, 81, 123, 163, 171 of the Programme of Action. See specifically, paragraphs 32-35 of the Declaration concerning Africans and people of African descent, and paragraphs 36 - 38 concerning Asians and people of Asian descent.