In April 1998, the first international standards for internally displaced persons were introduced into the United Nations Commission on Human Rigths. Entitled Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, they were developed by a team of international lawyers under the direction of the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons. Roberta Cohen says that as a first attempt to articlulate what protection should mean for the internally displaced, they give international and non-governmental organizations an important tool to use in their advocacy work on behalf of the displaced.