Solomon Islands: Mainstreaming Protection in Humanitarianism

Mainstreaming Protection into Humanitarian Action in the Solomon Islands

Mainstreaming protection concerns into humanitarian action guarantees respect for human rights and increases the effectiveness of disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

These issues were addressed in last week’s “Protection Mainstreaming workshop”, which was organised by the Pacific Humanitarian Protection Cluster and held from 19 to 21 November in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The workshop aimed at providing members of all humanitarian clusters in Solomon Islands with relevant knowledge and tools on mainstreaming protection into their activities, enabling them to identify and address protection considerations and issues in all humanitarian clusters and efforts.

In her presentation, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist Ms Carmen Monclus Girones explained that in recent decades, the overall number, frequency and severity of disasters have increased worldwide.

“In 2011 alone almost 200 million people were affected by disasters which includes 100 million children. Today in any disaster or emergencies it is expected that 50 – 60 percent of those affected are children”.

Ms Monclus Girones also explained that emergencies particularly undermine the protection of children. They exacerbate existing risks and threats while presenting new ones. At the same time protection mechanisms collapse or become weaker.” She said “mainstreaming protection into all sectors of humanitarian action is key. Most of the objectives of other sectors /clusters cannot be fully achieved if child protection issues have not been considered from the outset. Therefore cross sectoral collaboration is necessary all along the preparedness, response and recovery phases.”

Ms Satya Jennings from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Regional Office for the Pacific, highlighted that through protection mainstreaming, key human rights principles such as non- discrimination, participation and accountability are recognized and realised in program design and implementation. This is important as pre-standing concerns of exclusion and non-participation are at risk of being exacerbated in times of humanitarian emergencies.

She said, “examples of these are the promotion of access to services for persons with specific protection needs, enabling women’s participating or making linkages across sectors to improve the protection of human rights and the re-building of schools designed so as to contribute to the enjoyment of the right to education.”

This is the first time a workshop engaging key government departments and mainstreaming protection into other clusters has taken place in the Pacific. The workshop also offered participants the opportunity to share their experiences and challenges and identify ways where protection can be enhanced throughout all clusters during disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Particular attention was also given to protection needs of women, persons with disabilities, the elderly and other persons with special protection needs.

The workshop was organised by the Pacific Humanitarian Protection Cluster (PHPC) and supported by the New Zealand National Committee for UNICEF and the New Zealand Aid Programme.

About PHT and the Protection Cluster
The UN Country Teams in Fiji and Samoa established the regional Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) in 2008. The PHT is the agreed collaborative coordination mechanism among all the major humanitarian actors in the region. The Pacific Humanitarian Protection Cluster (PHPC) is established under the PHT recognizing that the protection of persons affected by disasters has been identified by a range of stakeholders as a gap in preparedness and response activities at national and regional levels.

The Pacific Humanitarian Protection Cluster (PHPC) is co-led by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for the Pacific and UNHCR, and also has 3 thematic areas of responsibility: Child Protection (UNICEF / Save the Children); Gender Mainstreaming and Gender-Based Violence (UN Women / UNFPA); and Displacement/Housing, Land & Property (UNOHCHR / UN Habitat). For more information, see www.phtpacific.org/pht-clusters-and-coordination-forums/protection.

About OHCHR
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) represents the world's commitment to universal ideals of human dignity. It has a unique mandate from the international community to promote and protect all human rights. The High Commissioner heads OHCHR and spearheads the United Nations' human rights efforts. OHCHR offers leadership, works objectively, educates and takes action to empower individuals and assist States in upholding human rights. OHCHR is part of the United Nations Secretariat with headquarters being based in Geneva. The Office’s priorities include greater country engagement, working closely with partners at the country and local levels, in order to ensure that international human rights standards are implemented on the ground;; and closer partnerships with civil society and United Nations agencies.

About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and our work in the Pacific visit: www.unicefpacific.org

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