When I was tasked with the mandate of developing the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, I felt highly motivated by the pressing need to ensure protection and assistance for those displaced. As protection was likely to be resisted by governments and assistance more welcome as support, I thought it important to approach the two areas as inextricably connected. The Guiding Principles were to be the benchmark for protection and assistance of internally displaced persons. And evidently navigating an understanding and agreement with governments on the challenge of protecting and assisting IDPs was imperative to the process.