A/HRC/29/34 2. Data, profiling and needs assessment 80. Official IDP figures advanced by governments tend to differ significantly from those of international agencies and non-governmental organizations due to factors that include data-gathering and registration deficiencies and, in some cases, the desire to downplay the issue and the number of people affected by internal displacement. The latter is particularly true in situations of conflict or violence and when the national authorities are complicit in a displacement situation. Deficiencies in registration procedures and reluctance of displaced persons to register due to fear, lack of information or other factors can all contribute to underestimation of the actual number of displaced persons. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre highlights that figures often reflect only those living in camps, while 60 per cent of IDPs are dispersed in other locations and with host families, and are often not officially counted. 36 Even when officially counted, the concerns and perceptions of IDPs are frequently not captured by official statistics and require more sophisticated data-gathering and household surveys. 3. Full and meaningful consultation with and participation of internally displaced persons 81. Efforts to ensure durable solutions and effective sustainable development programmes must involve full consultation with and the meaningful participation of IDPs. It is imperative that they not be considered simply as beneficiaries of development policies and programmes, but as full partners in the design, implementation and monitoring of such activities. IDPs have a right to full participation in decisions affecting them, and measures, including their return or relocation, should be undertaken with their full consent. Measures that do not meet those criteria violate their rights and do not constitute durable solutions. Participation of IDPs is also essential to ensuring effective accountability mechanisms. 4. Engagement of development actors on issues relating to internally displaced persons 82. National and international development actors must engage with IDPs at the earliest stages of displacement and recognize that, even in cases where early return to places of origin or integration in host communities is possible and desired, the challenges facing IDPs are likely to be considerable and complex, requiring medium and long-term development-centred solutions. It may take years to fully rebuild displacement-affected communities or to integrate them fully into new communities to the extent that they achieve conditions of full equality, access to services and participation in the economic, social and public and political aspects of society. 5. Establishment of national laws and policies on internally displaced persons 83. In December 2012, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (the Kampala Convention) entered into force. The first legally binding instrument specifically for IDPs, it sets obligations for States in their responses to internal displacement and aims to “establish a legal framework for preventing internal displacement, and protecting and assisting internally displaced persons in Africa”. So far, 24 African Union member States have ratified and a further 37 have signed the Convention. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his call for all African States to ratify and implement the Convention, as a key step towards ensuring durable solutions for IDPs and their inclusion in development. 36 20 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence.