A/71/279 71. The skills and abilities that exist within displacement -affected communities should be better utilized and developed. Recognizing internally displaced persons as economic agents offers new possibilities to employ the talent and capacity that exists within internally displaced populations as an essential component of the transition towards durable solutions. Assessment of their capacity for recovery is also key to engaging development partners based on evidence and data that demonstrates the potential to move beyond the emergency assistance phase. 72. Strengthening the resources and capacity of national non-governmental organizations, community and faith-based organizations and others, including volunteer groups, helps to ensure that local partners are closely involved in achieving local- and area-based solutions. As stated by the Secretary-General “We must become better at supporting and strengthening national and local capacities rather than replacing them” (see A/70/709, para. 170). Not only is this valuable in the short-term, it helps to build national capacity to respond to long -term displacement challenges. 73. As the Special Rapporteur highlighted in his report on his country visit to the Syrian Arab Republic (see A/HRC/32/35/Add.2), UNDP focused on building the resilience of the affected population in the Syrian Arab Republic to stabilize livelihoods and strengthen capacities to cope with the shocks and negative impacts of the crisis. 12 In 2014, UNDP scaled up its early recovery and resilience interventions targeting 14 governorates. By March 2015, it was implementing over 100 recovery, resilience and livelihood projects, many in close collabo ration with local partners. D. Strategic national action plans on internal displacement 74. National responses to internal displacement are often not integrated into national action or development plans. They are often ad hoc and conducted without clear time frames or long-term strategies or budgets in place. Attention may wane over time, resources may diminish and initial plans are revised or go unimplemented. In some cases displacement becomes protracted and transitional solutions become permanent. The political will and programme momentum may dissipate or disappear leaving internally displaced persons abandoned. Maintaining attention and resources through to the completion of durable solutions would benefit greatly from the establishment of national action plans under the framework of the Summit goal to reduce internal displacement by 2030. 75. This target must be considered as a concrete commitment to action on a level with commitments and targets established under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. States affected by or facing the threat of internal displacement should consider strategic national action plans to resolve displacement, with clear time frames and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place, and with focused attention to achieve durable solutions. This should be done nationally and for each displacement scenario in view of the specificities of each situation and in full consultation with internally displaced persons. __________________ 12 16-13413 See United Nations Development Programme, “365 days of resilience in Syria”, 2014, available from www.sy.undp.org/content/syria/en/home/library/poverty/365-days-of-resilience-insyria.html. 19/25