PHAP: Learning sessions and webinars

Principled humanitarian action may be more important than ever for humanitarian actors managing risk in highly political and volatile operational contexts. However, humanitarian principles are being challenged on multiple fronts. This first session helped frame the discussions of the Annual Conference and explored the importance of protecting and promoting principled humanitarian action.Read more about the session at https://phap.org/ICVA2020-Session1This session was part of ICVA's Virtual Annual Conference 2020. Read more about the conference on the event page https://phap.org/ICVA2020

The IASC recently endorsed guidelines for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. How can these guidelines help make humanitarian action more inclusive? On 26 February 2020, ICVA and PHAP organized a webinar together with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) secretariat and the Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which introduced the guidelines and discuss how they can be implemented in practice. The three interim co-chairs of the Reference Group, as well as one of the NGOs that has been implementing the IASC Guidelines in their organization, spoke about the guidelines, their development, structure, and how they can be used in practice.For more information about the event, please visit https://phap.org/26feb2020Persons with disabilities are among the most marginalized people in crisis-affected communities and disproportionately affected by conflict and disasters. In some contexts, their mortality rate is two to four times higher than that of persons without disabilities and persons with disabilities face substantial barriers to accessing assistance. A recent study found that 92% of humanitarian actors think that persons with disabilities are not properly taken into account in humanitarian response and are often considered only as recipients of aid and not as actors in the response.That is also why delivering better for persons with disabilities was part of the discussions of the World Humanitarian Summit and its follow-up commitments, including through the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2016). In 2016, the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Working Group agreed to the establishment of a Task Team on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which drafted the Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. The IASC Guidelines were drafted through a large number of consultations with member States, organizations of persons with disabilities, civil society organizations working with persons with disabilities and/or in humanitarian action, and UN agencies. They were endorsed by the IASC Principals in October 2019 and launched in New York in November 2019 and in Geneva in February 2020. At the same time, a Reference Group was established to continue to bring together key stakeholders for coordinated efforts on the implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and provide support, among others, their dissemination and to develop supporting tools and resources. As one of the few global initiatives where the persons concerned have been directly involved in the drafting of a tool serving intervention at their benefit, these Guidelines are a crucial step forward to achieve disability-inclusive humanitarian action. They serve the following four objectives:1. To provide practical guidance on including persons with disabilities in humanitarian programming and coordination;2. To increase capacity among humanitarian stakeholders to develop and implement quality programs that are inclusive of persons with disabilities;3. To describe the roles and responsibilities of humanitarian stakeholders to include persons with disabilities in humanitarian action; and4. To increase and improve the participation of persons with disabilities and organization of persons with disabilities in preparedness, response and recovery.However, what will make the real difference for persons with disabilities is how these guidelines are implemented in practice. Humanitarian actors need to translate the IASC Guidelines into concrete improvements in their daily activities, continuing to work closely with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations.

The IASC recently endorsed guidelines for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. How can these guidelines help make humanitarian action more inclusive? On 26 February 2020, ICVA and PHAP organized a webinar together with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) secretariat and the Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which introduced the guidelines and discuss how they can be implemented in practice. The three interim co-chairs of the Reference Group, as well as one of the NGOs that has been implementing the IASC Guidelines in their organization, spoke about the guidelines, their development, structure, and how they can be used in practice.For more information about the event, please visit https://phap.org/26feb2020Persons with disabilities are among the most marginalized people in crisis-affected communities and disproportionately affected by conflict and disasters. In some contexts, their mortality rate is two to four times higher than that of persons without disabilities and persons with disabilities face substantial barriers to accessing assistance. A recent study found that 92% of humanitarian actors think that persons with disabilities are not properly taken into account in humanitarian response and are often considered only as recipients of aid and not as actors in the response.That is also why delivering better for persons with disabilities was part of the discussions of the World Humanitarian Summit and its follow-up commitments, including through the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2016). In 2016, the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Working Group agreed to the establishment of a Task Team on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which drafted the Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. The IASC Guidelines were drafted through a large number of consultations with member States, organizations of persons with disabilities, civil society organizations working with persons with disabilities and/or in humanitarian action, and UN agencies. They were endorsed by the IASC Principals in October 2019 and launched in New York in November 2019 and in Geneva in February 2020. At the same time, a Reference Group was established to continue to bring together key stakeholders for coordinated efforts on the implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and provide support, among others, their dissemination and to develop supporting tools and resources. As one of the few global initiatives where the persons concerned have been directly involved in the drafting of a tool serving intervention at their benefit, these Guidelines are a crucial step forward to achieve disability-inclusive humanitarian action. They serve the following four objectives:1. To provide practical guidance on including persons with disabilities in humanitarian programming and coordination;2. To increase capacity among humanitarian stakeholders to develop and implement quality programs that are inclusive of persons with disabilities;3. To describe the roles and responsibilities of humanitarian stakeholders to include persons with disabilities in humanitarian action; and4. To increase and improve the participation of persons with disabilities and organization of persons with disabilities in preparedness, response and recovery.However, what will make the real difference for persons with disabilities is how these guidelines are implemented in practice. Humanitarian actors need to translate the IASC Guidelines into concrete improvements in their daily activities, continuing to work closely with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations.

Coordination and collaboration are critical for humanitarian protection – just as it is for an effective overall humanitarian response. Recent crises have highlighted that there remains a need to reinforce protection programming with clear leadership and further articulation of roles and responsibilities. Research has shown that effective coordination during disaster response has been lacking to the extent that it has become the expected norm. How can the GPC ensure it leads on coordination and overcomes identified problems in its work over the next five years?On Tuesday, 26 November, PHAP organized a webinar in partnership with the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) on coordination and collaboration for humanitarian protection. We discussed current weaknesses in protection coordination and what role the GPC may have in ensuring protection programming is well-coordinated – avoiding gaps and duplication – and that responding to the needs of marginalized communities does not fall between different actors. Issues discussed included how global protection coordination fits in with local realities, contextualization of protection coordination, and supporting local coordination mechanisms; the impact of regionalization on protection roles and responsibilities; and how to ensure a bottom-up approach to protection coordination. More information available at https://phap.org/26nov2019?k

Coordination and collaboration are critical for humanitarian protection – just as it is for an effective overall humanitarian response. Recent crises have highlighted that there remains a need to reinforce protection programming with clear leadership and further articulation of roles and responsibilities. Research has shown that effective coordination during disaster response has been lacking to the extent that it has become the expected norm. How can the GPC ensure it leads on coordination and overcomes identified problems in its work over the next five years?On Tuesday, 26 November, PHAP organized a webinar in partnership with the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) on coordination and collaboration for humanitarian protection. We discussed current weaknesses in protection coordination and what role the GPC may have in ensuring protection programming is well-coordinated – avoiding gaps and duplication – and that responding to the needs of marginalized communities does not fall between different actors. Issues discussed included how global protection coordination fits in with local realities, contextualization of protection coordination, and supporting local coordination mechanisms; the impact of regionalization on protection roles and responsibilities; and how to ensure a bottom-up approach to protection coordination. More information available at https://phap.org/26nov2019?k

The discipline of risk management is not new, and there has already been a significant amount of work to translate risk management practice and tools for use in humanitarian operations. Despite this, humanitarian organizations continue to struggle with applying risk management in their decision-making process. On 21 November, ICVA and PHAP organized the first webinar in a series aimed at exploring the current state of risk management in the humanitarian sector. This webinar provided an introduction to the concept of risk management and an overview of the particular challenges to apply this in humanitarian work. As part of framing how these challenges can be overcome, we heard from Jeremy Rempel, Head of Humanitarian Financing at ICVA, and Patroba Otieno, Risk and Financial Specialist at World Vision Somalia.Participants in the webinar learned about the need to balance management of the risks inherent to the work with the desire to reach people in need in the most difficult contexts. They also learned about the importance of developing an organizational culture that understands risk management as a discipline that cuts across all levels of an organization.

The discipline of risk management is not new, and there has already been a significant amount of work to translate risk management practice and tools for use in humanitarian operations. Despite this, humanitarian organizations continue to struggle with applying risk management in their decision-making process. On 21 November, ICVA and PHAP organized the first webinar in a series aimed at exploring the current state of risk management in the humanitarian sector. This webinar provided an introduction to the concept of risk management and an overview of the particular challenges to apply this in humanitarian work. As part of framing how these challenges can be overcome, we heard from Jeremy Rempel, Head of Humanitarian Financing at ICVA, and Patroba Otieno, Risk and Financial Specialist at World Vision Somalia.Participants in the webinar learned about the need to balance management of the risks inherent to the work with the desire to reach people in need in the most difficult contexts. They also learned about the importance of developing an organizational culture that understands risk management as a discipline that cuts across all levels of an organization.

The effects of a warming climate will likely be far-reaching and profound. In addition to warming and changed weather patterns, climate change will increasingly spark extremes in weather – a greater frequency and intensity of storms, heat, and cold. Critically, the effects of climate change exacerbate the scarcity of key resources, and hence contribute to armed conflict and impoverishment. To respond to these effects, humanitarian action needs to focus more on climate preparedness and response to slow-onset disasters – but how does humanitarian protection work fit into this shift?On 19 November, PHAP and the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) organized a webinar organized on climate change preparedness and community-based protection. The discussion focused on how protection concerns can be better included in preparedness work and in slow-onset disasters to avoid protection gaps and include marginalized communities. What is the role of the Protection Cluster in this? Are structural changes for coordination and communication called for, especially as Protection Clusters are normally not activated for preparedness work?Read more about the event at https://phap.org/19nov2019

The effects of a warming climate will likely be far-reaching and profound. In addition to warming and changed weather patterns, climate change will increasingly spark extremes in weather – a greater frequency and intensity of storms, heat, and cold. Critically, the effects of climate change exacerbate the scarcity of key resources, and hence contribute to armed conflict and impoverishment. To respond to these effects, humanitarian action needs to focus more on climate preparedness and response to slow-onset disasters – but how does humanitarian protection work fit into this shift?On 19 November, PHAP and the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) organized a webinar organized on climate change preparedness and community-based protection. The discussion focused on how protection concerns can be better included in preparedness work and in slow-onset disasters to avoid protection gaps and include marginalized communities. What is the role of the Protection Cluster in this? Are structural changes for coordination and communication called for, especially as Protection Clusters are normally not activated for preparedness work?Read more about the event at https://phap.org/19nov2019

Humanitarian action is increasingly connected to development, peace, and security work. What does this mean for the future of humanitarian protection and the role of the Global Protection Cluster (GPC)?On 22 October, PHAP organized a webinar organized in partnership with GPC on the future of humanitarian protection in the nexus, discussing how humanitarian protection fits into the vision and concrete plans for humanitarian action in the coming decade.Humanitarian action has never been carried out in isolation from other sectors. Building on long-running initiatives, such as “linking relief rehabilitation and development” (LRRD) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), efforts to strengthen connections with other sectors have accelerated over the past few years, especially following the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. The UN and World Bank’s New Way of Working (NWoW), the EU’s Joint Humanitarian and Development Frameworks, and other initiatives have in common a focus on the “nexus” between humanitarian work and development, as well as with peace and security to ensure that common objectives are reached. In these new models connecting and aligning humanitarian action, development, peace, and security, the vision of the role for humanitarian protection is less clear. There may be agreement that the overarching responsibility for protection is shared, but key practical questions remain, including:- Who carries out humanitarian protection work in practice in the nexus? - How is the need for independence of certain protection work ensured in conflict-affected and politically sensitive contexts? - Are we facing risks that we will create protection gaps? - Who should be tasked with coordinating to ensure any such gaps are covered? Read more about the event at https://phap.org/22oct2019

Humanitarian action is increasingly connected to development, peace, and security work. What does this mean for the future of humanitarian protection and the role of the Global Protection Cluster (GPC)?On 22 October, PHAP organized a webinar organized in partnership with GPC on the future of humanitarian protection in the nexus, discussing how humanitarian protection fits into the vision and concrete plans for humanitarian action in the coming decade.Humanitarian action has never been carried out in isolation from other sectors. Building on long-running initiatives, such as “linking relief rehabilitation and development” (LRRD) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), efforts to strengthen connections with other sectors have accelerated over the past few years, especially following the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. The UN and World Bank’s New Way of Working (NWoW), the EU’s Joint Humanitarian and Development Frameworks, and other initiatives have in common a focus on the “nexus” between humanitarian work and development, as well as with peace and security to ensure that common objectives are reached. In these new models connecting and aligning humanitarian action, development, peace, and security, the vision of the role for humanitarian protection is less clear. There may be agreement that the overarching responsibility for protection is shared, but key practical questions remain, including:- Who carries out humanitarian protection work in practice in the nexus? - How is the need for independence of certain protection work ensured in conflict-affected and politically sensitive contexts? - Are we facing risks that we will create protection gaps? - Who should be tasked with coordinating to ensure any such gaps are covered? Read more about the event at https://phap.org/22oct2019

How would you run a camp for displaced persons? Who would you hire to manage a site following a hurricane? If a conflict suddenly broke out and only your agency had access to a neighborhood where displaced people were staying, what would you do? What core activities would your team be responsible for? Where would you look for this information? And what standards would guide your interventions?National authorities have the responsibility to prevent displacement and protect IDPs and other populations affected within their own country. But in crisis situations, they often receive support from the international humanitarian community in the form of lifesaving assistance, including the management of temporary displacement sites.On 23 September, PHAP and the Global CCCM Cluster organized a webinar on the critical work of Camp Managers and the draft Camp Management Standards. This included experienced Camp Managers who have been involved in the standards development process and was an opportunity for practitioners worldwide to provide their input on the draft standards. Ahead of the event, a pre-event survey was organized with more than 400 respondents providing their input on the scope and purpose of the standards, as well as comments on the content of the drafts.Read more at https://phap.org/23sep2019

How would you run a camp for displaced persons? Who would you hire to manage a site following a hurricane? If a conflict suddenly broke out and only your agency had access to a neighborhood where displaced people were staying, what would you do? What core activities would your team be responsible for? Where would you look for this information? And what standards would guide your interventions?National authorities have the responsibility to prevent displacement and protect IDPs and other populations affected within their own country. But in crisis situations, they often receive support from the international humanitarian community in the form of lifesaving assistance, including the management of temporary displacement sites.On 23 September, PHAP and the Global CCCM Cluster organized a webinar on the critical work of Camp Managers and the draft Camp Management Standards. This included experienced Camp Managers who have been involved in the standards development process and was an opportunity for practitioners worldwide to provide their input on the draft standards. Ahead of the event, a pre-event survey was organized with more than 400 respondents providing their input on the scope and purpose of the standards, as well as comments on the content of the drafts.Read more at https://phap.org/23sep2019

On Wednesday, 3 July, PHAP in partnership with the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) organized a webinar exploring the topic of protection in humanitarian logistics, aiming to clarify key protection issues that should be of direct concern with respect to humanitarian logistics and related functions.The event featured speakers representing a wide range of perspectives. Will Holden, Managing Director of the Emergency Logistics Team, provided an overview of protection issues faced by logistics practitioners. Tikhwi Muyundo, Castelbarco Capacity Building Consultants and Africa Regional Representative, Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA), shared her perspectives on protection issues related to how logistics is carried out. Valerie Craigie, Supply Chain and Communications Consultant, described her findings from a study on protection issues and gender-based violence in logistics and camp management. Pierre Gentile, former Head of the Protection Division at the ICRC and currently working as a consultant, shared his perspectives as a protection specialist on the protection issues that the other speakers had raised. Read more about the webinar and access the recommended resources on https://phap.org/3jul2019

On Wednesday, 3 July, PHAP in partnership with the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) organized a webinar exploring the topic of protection in humanitarian logistics, aiming to clarify key protection issues that should be of direct concern with respect to humanitarian logistics and related functions.The event featured speakers representing a wide range of perspectives. Will Holden, Managing Director of the Emergency Logistics Team, provided an overview of protection issues faced by logistics practitioners. Tikhwi Muyundo, Castelbarco Capacity Building Consultants and Africa Regional Representative, Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA), shared her perspectives on protection issues related to how logistics is carried out. Valerie Craigie, Supply Chain and Communications Consultant, described her findings from a study on protection issues and gender-based violence in logistics and camp management. Pierre Gentile, former Head of the Protection Division at the ICRC and currently working as a consultant, shared his perspectives as a protection specialist on the protection issues that the other speakers had raised. Read more about the webinar and access the recommended resources on https://phap.org/3jul2019