A/RES/66/165 Emphasizing that States have the primary responsibility to provide protection and assistance to internally displaced persons within their jurisdiction, as well as to address the root causes of the displacement problem in appropriate cooperation with the international community, Reaffirming that all persons, including those internally displaced, have the right to freedom of movement and residence and should be protected against being arbitrarily displaced, 2 Noting the international community’s growing awareness of the issue of internally displaced persons worldwide and the urgency of addressing the root causes of their displacement and finding durable solutions, including voluntary return in safety and with dignity, as well as voluntary local integration in the areas to which persons have been displaced or voluntary settlement in another part of the country, Recalling the relevant norms of international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law, and recognizing 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 Recalling also the relevance of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 4 and the Additional Protocols thereto, of 1977, 5 as a vital legal framework for the protection of and assistance to civilians in armed conflict and under foreign occupation, including internally displaced persons, Noting with appreciation the adoption by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region of the Protocol on the Protection of and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons and the Protocol on the Property Rights of Returning Persons and the adoption of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, 6 as steps contributing to the strengthening of the regional normative framework for the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons in Africa, Welcoming the increasing dissemination, promotion and application of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement when dealing with situations of internal displacement, Deploring practices of forced displacement and their negative consequences for the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by large groups of populations, and recalling the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court that define the deportation or forcible transfer of population as a crime against humanity, and the unlawful deportation, transfer, or ordering the displacement of the civilian population as war crimes, 7 _______________ 2 See Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, principle 6. E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, annex. 4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970–973. 5 Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513. 6 Available from www.africa-union.org. 7 Art. 7, paras. 1 (d) and 2 (d), and art. 8, paras. 2 (a) (vii) and 2 (e) (viii) (see United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, No. 38544). 3 2