HPG: Protective Action: Incorporating Civilian Protection into Humanitarian Response

Protecting civilians from the worst effects of violence and abuse is, more than ever before, an active concern of aid actors. An unprecedented number of humanitarian organisations now undertake protection activities; the response to the Darfur crisis represented a watershed in this regard, with 41 agencies engaging in protection in 2006, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (Pantuliano and O’Callaghan, 2006). The scope of the protection agenda has also changed. No longer primarily related to refugees and civilians and ex-combatants in conflict, protection now includes people displaced as a consequence of all forms of disaster, as well as broader at-risk populations. The situations in which humanitarians undertake protection activities have also changed, to encompass organised armed conflict, ongoing generalised violence, natural disasters and post-conflict situations (Slim and Bonwick, 2005). Expertise and specialisation are increasing, with dedicated programming in areas such as child protection, sexual
and gender-based violence and access to justice.

This report forms part of a wider body of work by the Humanitarian Policy Group on the protection of civilians in conflict, and focuses on the role of non-specialist humanitarian agencies in protection. Despite the recent prominence of protection, many humanitarian agencies remain unclear as to their role. There is confusion around what humanitarian protection means, and how it can be translated into practice. Pressure to engage in protection has led many agencies to deploy protection officers to emergencies, but without clear institutional policies and guidance, and with little success. This report highlights the important contribution that all humanitarian actors can make in promoting the protection of civilians in crisis. Its overall recommendation is that every humanitarian agency should incorporate a minimum commitment to protection into their work. This would ensure greater clarity and predictability, and enhance complementarity across the humanitarian sector. The report proposes a framework with five main elements for establishing the content of such a core commitment, and discusses the organisational and programmatic implications of doing so.

The report is available for download from Reliefweb, and further information about HPG's programme of work on protection in practice is available from their website.