The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation Geneva January 2017 1 / 8

CENTRE OF COMPETENCE ON

HUMANITARIAN NEGOTIATION

The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation Enhancing Professional Exchanges and Peer Learning among Frontline Humanitarian Negotiators

A Strategic Partnership of :

Sponsored by :

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Frontline humanitarian negotiations take place in highly contextual, confidential and personal environments. As a result, humanitarian negotiators as talented they may be often work in isolation from each other and enjoy only limited access to information and discussions on peer practices.

Yet, professionals engaged in humanitarian negotiations increasingly recognize commonalities in negotiation practices in complex environments – both within a given conflict and across conflict situations. The multiplicity of humanitarian actors and their growing interdependence on the ground imply a greater need for sharing of experience and peer learning in assistance and protection negotiations. Indeed, negotiators are increasingly aware of the impact of other negotiation efforts on the outcome of their own.

Humanitarian negotiations are inherently chal-lenging taking place with often-unpredictable actors under considerable time pressure as well as political, security and institutional con-straints. As humanitarian organizations expand their operational outreach and en-gage with a growing number and variety of actors, the task of negotiating access has become a central part of their activities and the crucial point at which humanitarian principles intersect with field practices.

International humanitarian law and the underlying humanitarian principles provide an important framework for such negotiations. Humanitarian negotiations imply a shared sense of responsibility among the parties toward reaching the desired huma-nitarian outcome as well as a common understanding of each other’s motivations and goals.

Defining Humanitarian Negotiation

Humanitarian negotiations are

defined as interactions with

parties to a conflict and other

relevant actors aimed at

establishing the presence of

humanitarian agencies in conflict

environments, ensuring their

access to vulnerable groups and

facilitating the delivery of

assistance and protection

activities. These negotiations take

place at the field level for the most

part and involve both state and

non-state actors. They encompass

an advocacy component relative to

the protection of affected popul-

ations as well as a transactional

component in setting the logistical

and tactical parameters of

humanitarian operations.

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About the Centre of Competence Recognizing the need to establish a privileged space to facilitate the sharing of experience among humanitarian professionals engaged in frontline negotia-tions, the Strategic Partners have decided in 2015 to establish the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation as a central hub for such activities.

The core objectives of the Centre of Competence are to:

1. Facilitate critical reflections, learning and informal peer exchanges

among frontline negotiators The Centre offers a safe, informal and neutral space to discuss and review humanitarian negotiation practices in regions affected by conflicts. In fostering peer exchanges among frontline negotiators, the Centre aims to support individual negotiators and their organizations in addressing the growing challenges and dilemmas of operating in complex emergencies.

2. Support the development of a stronger analytical framework and greater

capacity for effective humanitarian negotiation Informed by current practices, the Centre contributes to the professional and policy debates surrounding frontline negotiation processes, tools and strategies. It cooperates with leading policy and academic centres in setting up the necessary framework to analyse humanitarian negotiation experiences and to develop practical planning and evaluation tools.

3. Foster a community of practice among humanitarian professionals

engaged in frontline negotiations. The ultimate goal of the Centre is to facilitate the emergence of a global community of practice among professionals engaged in "frontline negotiations" across agencies, regions and themes. The activities of the Centre are guided by a group of dedicated and recognized practitioners in humanitarian negotiations from headquarters and the field, committed to supporting and furthering the Centre’s mission.

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Activities of the Centre of Competence

The activities of the Centre of Competence are articulated around three models serving field practitioners’ interest in humanitarian negotiation: Context-specific activities focusing on negotiation practices pertaining to

specific conflicts and contexts and providing support to country teams based on the demands of Strategic Partners;

People-specific activities focusing on the needs and demands of frontline negotiators across contexts and agencies, developed in partnership with the Advanced Training on Humanitarian Action at Harvard University;

Theme-specific activities focusing on specific challenges and dilemmas of frontline humanitarian negotiation resulting in an Annual Meeting of Frontline Humanitarian Negotiators.

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Activities by Sectors These activities are listed below per sector:

Focus of activity

Type of activities

Description

In-country bilateral and small group meetings with field practitioners to capture and analyze local practices and challenges on frontline humanitarian negotiations.

In-country field workshops introducing essential tools of humanitarian negotiators for national and international staff.

In-country policy workshops on the specific challenges and dilemmas for senior managers of humanitarian organizations on access and protection issues.

Peer support meeting to share negotiation practices among field practitioners at the local, national or regional level.

Web platform co-hosted by the Centre of Competence and ATHA/ Harvard Program facilitating access to reading material, blog, podcast on humanitarian negotiation.

Advanced Regional Workshops organized jointly with ATHA/Harvard, building capacity and skills of field prac-titioners through exchange of experience and reflections.

Policy research on the development of new and practical tools and methods to assist frontline professionals in engaging successfully in frontline negotiations.

Informal meetings with practitioners and experts around a particular theme/ challenge of humanitarian negotiation to define the scope of the Annual Meeting. International gathering of field practitioners and experts around key challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian negotiation. Acts as an informal assembly of practitioners guiding the orientation of the Centre of Competence.

CONTEXT SPECIFIC

Capture &

Analysis

Induction

Workshop

Policy Workshop

Peer Exchange

PEOPLE

SPECIFIC

Digital Gateway

Regional Workshop

Tools and Methods

Thematic WGs

Annual Meeting

THEME

SPECIFIC

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Structure and governance of the Centre of Competence

The Centre is established on the basis of the following principles:

The mission of the Centre of Competence is oriented toward servicing humanitarian professionals engaged in frontline negotiations. Its core goal is to facilitate the sharing of diverse practices and reflections on humanitarian negotiation and building the capacity of frontline humanitarian negotiators. Its mission is, in that sense, distinct from inter-agency platforms aimed at harmonizing policies across organizations in humanitarian operations.

The Centre of Competence has been established to serve primarily humanitarian negotiators from its constituting members (UNHCR, ICRC, WFP, MSF and HD). Participants from other agencies and NGOs can also take part to the activities of the Centre. The Centre of Competence relies on financial and in-kind contributions of Strategic Partners as well as external donors. It may also levy a fee for specific activities of the Centre of Competence to help cover the cost of operations.

Heads of Partner agencies or their representatives meet annually to review the Centre’s strategic orientations. While the Centre operates under a Strategic Partnership, practitioners play a critical in shaping the activities of the Centre through the observations and deliberations made at the Annual Meeting of Frontline Humanitarian Negotiators.

The ICRC hosts the Centre’s initial concise structure over an incubation period of five years after which Strategic Partners will determine how best to institutionalize this effort and expand the Centre’s activities.

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Functional chart

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Info & Contact For additional information on the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiations

and the Annual Meeting of Frontline Humanitarian Negotiators, please contact :

Claude Bruderlein Director of the Centre of Competence cbruderl@frontline-negotiations.org

Olivier Haener Senior Advisor

ohaener@frontline-negotiations.org

The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation 106, Route de Ferney

1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 730 39 51

Web: http://frontline-negotiations.org

For more information about the Regional Workshop on Frontline Humanitarian Negotiation organized in collaboration with Harvard ATHA, please visit:

http://atha.se/negotiationworkshop