A/HRC/13/21 for the protection of internally displaced persons”, a recognition subsequently echoed by the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.2 Most recently, the General Assembly recognized that “the protection of internally displaced persons has been strengthened by identifying, reaffirming and consolidating specific standards for their protection, in particular through the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement”.3 There are some indications that the Guiding Principles are emerging as customary law, providing a binding interpretation of the international legal norms upon which they are based.4 12. Regional and subregional organizations are increasingly shaping normative frameworks, building on the Guiding Principles. Africa has made the greatest advances, being the only region which has binding instruments specifically protecting internally displaced persons. The Great Lakes Protocol on Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons obliges 10 member States to incorporate the Guiding Principles into their domestic law. 13. In October 2009, the African Union (AU) Special Summit of Heads of State and Governments adopted the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), the first internal displacement-specific convention covering an entire region. This historic document, to the development of which the Representative contributed, sets out obligations for States parties, the AU and humanitarian agencies in relation to all phases of displacement and had already been signed by 17 States when this report was finalized. 14. Other regional organizations have adopted recommendations and resolutions for the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons that reference the Guiding Principles.5 The Representative encourages the development of regional normative frameworks in line with the Guiding Principles since they allow member States to address the specific patterns of internal displacement in their regions. 15. The Representative is particularly pleased to report that he has been able to assist a number of member States in developing laws and policies on internal displacement, including Georgia, Nepal, Turkey and Sudan. The Representative stands ready to continue 2 3 4 5 GE.10-10161 2005 World Summit Outcome, General Assembly resolution 60/1, para. 132; Human Rights Council resolution 6/32, para. 5; General Assembly resolution 62/153 (2008), para. 10; 64/162, para. 11. General Assembly resolution 64/162 , tenth preambular paragraph. The National Policy on Displacement of Iraq declares that the Guiding Principles have become “part of international law”. Iraq National Policy on Displacement (July 2008), section 5, para. 3. The Government of Germany has taken the position that the Guiding Principles “can by now be considered to be international customary law”, see Achter Bericht der Bundesregierung über ihre Menschenrechtspolitik in den auswärtigen Beziehungen und in anderen Politikbereichen, p. 150. See Council of Europe recommendation (2006) 6 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on internally displaced persons (adopted on 5 April 2006); recommendation 1631 of the Parliamentary Assembly on Internal Displacement in Europe (adopted on 25 November 2003); resolution 1877 (2009) of the Parliamentary Assembly entitled “Europe’s forgotten people: protecting the human rights of long-term displaced persons” (adopted on 24 June 2009). Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Lomé Declaration on Climate Change and Protection of Civilians in West Africa (adopted 16 September 2009); Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Khartoum Declaration of the Ministerial Conference on Internally Displaced Persons in the IGAD Sub-Region (adopted 2 September 2003); Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Declaration de Saint-Boniface, adopted at the Ministerial Conference on the prevention of conflict and on human security, Canada (13–14 May 2006); Organization of American States, General Assembly, AG/RES 2508 (XXXIX-0/09) on Internally Displaced Persons (2009); Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ministerial Council decision No. 4/03 on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination (December 2003). 5