4 m."Member State" means a Member State of the African Union; n. "Non-state actors" means private actors who are not public officials of the State, including other armed groups not referred to in article 1(d) above, and whose acts cannot be officially attributed to the State; o. "OAU" means the Organization of African Unity; p. "Women" mean persons of the female gender, including girls; q. "Sphere standards" mean standards for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of humanitarian assistance; and r. "States Parties" means African States which have ratified or acceded to this Convention. Article 2 Objectives The objectives of this Convention are to: a. Promote and strengthen regional and national measures to prevent or mitigate, prohibit and eliminate root causes of internal displacement as well as provide for durable solutions; b. Establish a legal framework for preventing internal displacement, protecting and assisting internally displaced persons in Africa; c. Establish a legal framework for solidarity, cooperation, promotion of durable solutions and mutual support between the States Parties in order to combat displacement and address its consequences; and d. Provide for the obligations and responsibilities of States Parties, with respect to the prevention of internal displacement and protection of, and assistance, to internally displaced persons; e. Provide for the respective obligations, responsibilities and roles of armed groups, non-state actors and other relevant actors, including civil society organizations, with respect to the prevention of internal displacement and protection of, and assistance to, internally displaced persons; .:·( )-- · .