Phap: Learning Sessions And Webinars

On 24 May, ICVA and PHAP organized the second session of the learning stream on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, which explored the role of the World Bank when working in conflict situations and fragile contexts, and how their approach has changed since the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. The event featured presentations from Xavier Devictor and Hannah George on the World Bank's approach in such contexts. Moreover, Lauren Post from the International Rescue Committee and Thomas Jepson-Lay from Save the Children Somalia, shared their perspectives on engaging with the World Bank in complex settings.For more information and additional resources, go to https://phap.org/24may2018

On 12 April, the first session of the new learning stream on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus took place, jointly organized by ICVA and PHAP. The event explored how humanitarian action can contribute to development and peace efforts and considered some of the risks and challenges involved in changing ways of working and pursuing collective outcomes.This introductory discussion focused on the main actors and current initiatives aiming to bring together humanitarian, development, and – when appropriate – peace work. The session included presentations by UN and NGO guest experts, who provided their own perspective on working in the “nexus”. Read more and access the session resources at https://phap.org/12apr2018

Aiming collectively for strengthened humanitarian coordination and response from local to global level, we are witnessing the increasing relevance of NGO fora and consortia at national, regional and global levels. Understanding how these fora and consortia function, and how NGOs can engage in these structures, was the topic of the third session of the learning stream on humanitarian coordination, jointly organized by ICVA and PHAP.In this session, participants were provided with examples of good practice of NGO-led fora and consortia, highlighting the challenges and opportunities to engage for both local and international NGOs. Guest experts explored their added value, and answered live questions from participants throughout the session.

What are the humanitarian coordination mechanisms at country and regional levels? In the second online session of the learning stream on humanitarian coordination, jointly organized by PHAP and ICVA, guest experts explored the coordination mechanisms available at country level, and some of the existing regional structures.The session focused on the function of various country-level humanitarian coordination structures and actors, including the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) role, the Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs), and the cluster approach at national and sub-national levels, highlighting the strengths and limitations of these structures.Participants were provided with recommendations on how NGOs can better engage in these coordination mechanisms, and also had an opportunity to ask questions.

What is the current global humanitarian architecture? What is the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC)? And how can NGOs engage in the various IASC coordination mechanisms? On 31 May, PHAP and ICVA hosted the first online session of the new learning stream on humanitarian coordination.Participants were provided with an overview of IASC humanitarian coordination mechanisms at the country and global levels, followed by an opportunity for questions and answers.The event examined the current coordination structures, and the way for NGOs to engage in such structures, also exploring how the global-level structures coordinate with country-level mechanisms, and how they feed into each other.

The consequences of counterterrorism laws and policies on humanitarian action have been widely debated and discussed. Indeed, in recent years, members of the humanitarian community have become increasingly aware of the real, perceived, and potential impact of such measures on the delivery of principled humanitarian assistance. Yet, humanitarian organizations continue to experience the effect of counterterrorism measures on their work, often causing a "chilling effect" on humanitarian assistance.On 12 May, Jessica S. Burniske and Naz K. Modirzadeh presented their recently published pilot empirical study on the impact of counterterrorism laws on humanitarian action as part of the Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Engagement (CHE) Project at the Harvard Law School (HLS) Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC). The event explored the key findings of this survey-based study, providing a policy analysis of the results, and followed by an opportunity for questions from the audience.Read more at https

Following an intensive initial review process, the first draft of the Sphere Standards 2018 edition is now open for comments and suggestions from practitioners around the world.To provide an opportunity to learn about the main improvements and how you can contribute to the process, PHAP hosted an online briefing session on 27 April. This was an opportunity to hear directly from the lead chapter authors and the Sphere secretariat and ask questions about the process.The lead authors and writing teams have been working with their review groups across six chapters to create the framework for the revised standards. The first draft moves the standards from a text-heavy format to a clearer table style which draws out indicators, thresholds, and targets and encourages the reader to think more about context. Common terminology is being used to build greater consistency across chapters. Drivers of future humanitarian response, such as cash transfer programming, urban response, and environmental concerns, are grouped an

Throughout PHAP’s and ICVA’s series on humanitarian financing, speakers have referred to a process that promises to significantly reshape humanitarian funding – the “Grand Bargain”. This package of commitments to improve humanitarian financing was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit last year and aims to reduce the humanitarian funding gap and improve funding processes. Given the interest expressed in this topic by participants in previous sessions, PHAP and ICVA hosted an additional event focusing on this reform process on 3 March.In this session, participants were provided with an overview of the origins and current processes related to the Grand Bargain and how it might impact the work of NGOs. Based on the interests expressed in previous sessions, the session focused on three areas of the Grand Bargain: increasing support to local and national responders, harmonized and simplified reporting, and the humanitarian-development nexus.Read more and access related resources at https://phap.org/3mar2017

On 21 February, PHAP hosted an online learning session in its series on humanitarian law and policy with Cecilia Jimenez, recently appointed Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and Jean-François Durieux.Protracted conflicts such as those in Syria, Iraq, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere, often combined with natural disasters and food crises, have contributed to an unprecedented number of people fleeing their homes – many being displaced within their own countries. The estimated number of IDPs in the world is currently double that of the number of refugees. However, while the causes for their displacement can often be the same, refugees and IDPs are not provided the same protection under international legal frameworks.In the session, participants were provided with an introduction to the legal frameworks pertaining to internal displacement by Jean-François Durieux, followed by a discussion with the Special Rapporteur regarding her priorities f

Private funding of humanitarian work is changing – from having been primarily targeted at natural disaster response, in 2015, the response to the conflict in Syria received the majority of reported private funds. With most private funding channeled through non-governmental rather than governments or multi-lateral organizations, understanding current developments in private funding flows and mechanisms has become more pertinent than ever for NGOs.The fifth session of PHAP’s and ICVA’s learning stream on humanitarian financing focused on the growing potential of private funding in the humanitarian sector. Participants were provided with an overview of the main existing private funding mechanisms, with a particular focus on emerging trends and key challenges for NGOs, followed by an opportunity to ask questions.For more information and related resources, visit https://phap.org/27jan2017

The Professional Standards for Protection Work were first established in 2009 in a process initiated and led by the ICRC. Following a first revision in 2013, they are now being updated again to reflect new developments in situations of armed conflict and other situations of violence, and the experiences of humanitarian and human rights organizations responding to these crises.The purpose of the standards, initiated and led by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and involving several humanitarian and human rights NGOs and UN agencies, is not to provide a ‘how-to’ guide for practitioners but, rather, to establish a living body professional standards informed by international law, professional ethics, good practice, and operational reality.In 2015, the ICRC-led Advisory Group commenced a new process to update the Standards, in order to integrate the evolution of the environment in which we operate (stronger data protection norms, challenges and opportunities linked to the use of new technologies,