In situations of armed conflict, civil unrest and natural disaster, men, women, boys and girls are often vulnerable to extreme threats of violence and deprivation, including deliberate mistreatment. Humanitarian protection involves preventing or mitigating these risks, and their effects, in accordance with obligations and entitlements under international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law.
InterAction members enhance protection through targeted efforts to reduce people’s vulnerability and mitigate threats they face. InterAction members also work to ensure that the policies and approaches to crises by the U.S. government, U.N. agencies and multi-lateral bodies appropriately address protection concerns and support efforts to overcome them.
InterAction convenes a Protection Working Group as well as two sub groups focused on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and prevention and response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse [1] (SEA). These groups, chaired by InterAction members, develop resources for use by members and other humanitarian actors to strengthen protection programming. They also undertake advocacy to highlight protection concerns and the policies and action needed by governments, parties to conflict and others.
InterAction also seeks to ensure that members’ experience and expertise is taken into account by the humanitarian community as a whole, including through active participation in the Global Protection Cluster. This global mechanism helps coordinate responses to humanitarian crises and takes into account protection concerns.
For more information contact: Jenny McAvoy, Director of Protection, InterAction, jmcavoy@interaction.org [2]
Links:
[1] http://www.interaction.org/sea
[2] mailto:jmcavoy@interaction.org