Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks
HNPW 2024 (29 April - 10 May 2024)
          


 
Session title: Community engagement, protection and peace: putting the nexus into action
18 Apr 23 16:00-17:30
 
SessionAbstract

The number of protracted, non-international armed conflicts, as well as the number and range of actors participating in them have significantly increased in the last twenty years. This has presented challenges for protection actors seeking to prevent and respond
to protection risks. The interaction between civilian communities and armed actors is complex, ambiguous, and changes through time.
Community engagement with armed actors is often less visible and can take place significantly before any recognised mediation or negotiation processes.

Many humanitarian and protection actors are not proactively addressing threats to civilians in conflict, with limited focus on preventing or reducing risks of violence, coercion or deliberate deprivation. There is growing recognition of and momentum on the need for a shift in approaches to humanitarian protection, and consideration of how civilian engagement strategies can be supported, or at the very least not undermined. There are opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of these strategies when based on adequate understanding of the complex, dynamic relationships between communities and armed actors, and when approaches are tailored to those communities. Peace actors more proactively engage with threats – including through supporting dialogue, negotiation and mediation with armed actors – though not necessarily through the lens of protection. There is growing recognition of the need to build a community of practice between humanitarian, protection and peace actors,[1] and to strengthen synergies between them.

The recent HumanitarianExchange, with its focus on Community engagement: prevention, protection and response saw contributions from a range of humanitarian, protection, peace and research experts as a first contribution in developing a community of practice. This plenary session will bring together a range of experts who have contributed to this edition. As such, the discussion will contribute to,and influence the growing interest in how the ‘nexus’ can be applied in conflict settings, and in particular opportunities for greater complementarity between humanitarian, protection and peace action.








[1] The research refers to humanitarian, protection and peace actors with the recognition that not all humanitarian actors supporting community engagement are protection specialists, and that not all protection actors are humanitarian actors, but can include policy, human rights and protection of civilians organisations, for example.



Speakers

· Wendy Fenton, Senior Research Fellow and HPN Co-ordinator, HPG (Moderator)

· Gemma Davies, Senior Research Fellow, HPG

· Habibou Bako, Sahel Policy Associate at Search for Common Ground.

· Carla Ruta, Coordinator at Strengthening Community Protection (SCP);

· Jérôme Grimaud;is a humanitarian worker, accredited mediator and trainer. He is currently Senior Protection Advisor with the Norwegian Refugee Council Protection Standby Capacity Project (ProCap).


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