Safe programmingProtection mainstreaming Deirdre Mc Ardle Humanitarian Manager

Safe programming/Protection mainstreaming Deirdre Mc. Ardle Humanitarian Manager Operations

Power walk

Human rights Article Right 1 3 Everyone is born free and has dignity as a human Everyone has the right to life and the right to live in freedom and safety Everyone has the right not to be hurt, tortured or treated cruelly Everyone has the right to nationality Everyone has the right to vote in regular democratic elections and to take part in the government of their country 5 15 21 26 Everyone has the right to education and to free primary education

Power Walk • We are all born equal and with human rights • We do not all have access to those rights. • These rights can be deliberately denied or abused, putting people’s safety and dignity at risk. • People in positions of power are more likely to have the resources and support to ensure their rights are respected. • The most vulnerable may have fewer opportunities to claim their rights and may stay invisible if humanitarian actors do not make a conscious effort to find and listen to them.

Definition of protection “(…) all activities aimed at ensuring full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law, i. e. human rights law, international humanitarian law, and refugee law. ” A multi-sector activity An objective A legal responsibility

What are you protecting against? Violence Coercion Deliberate deprivation Discrimination The 4 Human Generated Threats

Human Generated threats • Violence is behaviour intended to harm someone. Violence can come in different forms, such as physical, sexual, psychological or even structural. • Examples include deliberate killing, wounding, sexual violence, torture, or the fear of any of these • Coercion and exploitation is persuading someone to do something against their will by using force or threats. • Examples include forced labour, forced displacement, sexual exploitation, or forced recruitment.

Human Generated threats • Deliberate deprivation normally occurs when a person with greater power denies materials or other resources (e. g. information) to a more vulnerable person. • Examples include obstructing delivery of humanitarian assistance, refusing to issue ID documents, illegal taxes, preventing access to services including health, education, markets or justice system. • Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age and/or sex. • Examples include preventing certain groups from accessing assistance, limiting access of certain groups to jobs and services (such as education or healthcare), and preventing land tenure by specific groups.

Recap • We are all born equal and with human rights. However, not everyone has access to those rights. • Protection is a rights-based approach that focuses on preventing and responding to situations when a human generated threat (violence, coercion, deliberate deprivation or discrimination) has denied people from enjoying their full rights. • Protection should be central to all humanitarian work: ALL humanitarian actors have a responsibility to mainstream protection

Protection Mainstreaming (Safe & Dignified Programming) “The process of incorporating protection principles and promoting meaningful access, safety and dignity in humanitarian aid”

Guiding Principles • Prioritise safety and dignity and avoid causing harm (Do No Harm) • Meaningful access (equality) • Accountability to beneficiaries • Participation and empowerment

Protection Mainstreaming Principles Video

Barriers

Recap • Protection mainstreaming is also known as ‘safe and dignified programming’. • Prioritising safety and dignity, and enabling meaningful access to assistance are central to protection mainstreaming. • All humanitarian actors have a role to play in protection mainstreaming. • By mainstreaming protection, we can provide better quality services and support people to enjoy their rights. • Mainstreaming focuses not on what we do, but how we do it.

Protection Mainstreaming Video

Vulnerability Exercise • Rank the individuals, according to how vulnerable they think they are likely to, considering their sex, age and other diversity factors. They should rank them from 1 (most vulnerable) to 10 (least vulnerable).

Debrief • Vulnerability is not inherent. Staff should not make assumptions about who is ‘vulnerable’ and in need. • Vulnerability is determined by a number of overlapping factors including sex, age and other diversity factors such as their age, ethnicity, nationality, political affiliation etc. • People’s capacities should also be considered (refer back to the risk equation in Module 3, if it was used in this workshop). • Identifying and selecting those most in need means analysing who experiences a combination of overlapping vulnerabilities and may not have capacities to cope with risks.