A/71/279 displacement, and in September he will conduct follow -up visits to Ukraine, Serbia and Kosovo 1 and Georgia. 7. The Special Rapporteur participated in the dialogue convened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on protection challenges in Geneva in December 2015; in a regional conference on human rights in the Arab world in Doha in January 2016; in the World Humanitarian Summit in Turkey in May 2016 and in a preparatory meeting for the Summit with African Union member States in Ethiopia in January 2016; in the humanitarian segment of the Economic and Social Council in June 2016; and in a regional event on the theme of a call to action on protection needs, including with respect to forcible displacement, held in Costa Rica in July 2016. 8. The Special Rapporteur continued his engagement with the African Union to promote ratification and implementation of the Kampala Convention. He urges African States to ratify the Convention. It is of utmost importance to move to an operational phase supported by a conference of States parties, as required under the Convention and which should be established without delay with a mandate to adopt a framework for reporting by States and monitoring of implementation of the Convention. He urges other regional governmental organizations to pursue the adoption of new regional standards on internal displacement. 9. The Special Rapporteur continued to support the mainstreaming of the human rights of internally displaced persons within the United Nations system and the wider humanitarian community, notably by participating actively in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. His participation at the level of principals has helped to ensure and enhance collaborative approaches and strong links with key United Nations agencies, as well as other international organizations and civil society. He commends the Committee for its strong focus on the issue of displacement. 10. The Special Rapporteur considers that the mandate on human rights of internally displaced persons has created an important voice on and for millions of internally displaced persons globally. The Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, among other bodies, have recognized its catalytic role in raising awareness of the alarmingly high numbers of internally displaced persons, addressing their development and specific needs, including through mainstreaming internal displacement issues into all relevant parts of the United Nations system. In its resolution 70/165, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Special Rapporteur, from within existing resources, with all assistance necessary to strengthen and carry out his mandate effectively. 11. Mr. Beyani considers that a special rapporteur acting in a voluntary, external and independent capacity is no longer adequate to cope with the complexity and scope of global internal displacement today. In his 2016 report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/32/35), he recommended that consideration be given to establishing a special representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons, with appropriate staff and resources, working within and outside the United Nations and in dialogue with Member States and all stakeholders. This would __________________ 1 4/25 All references to Kosovo in the present document should be understood to be in compliance with Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. 16-13413