The Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities and humanitarian actors best respond to the COVID-19 outbreak? How can the Sphere Handbook guide our response?

The Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities and humanitarian actors best respond to the COVID-19 outbreak? How can the Sphere Handbook guide our response?

This guidance presents Red Cross and Red Crescent staff, members and volunteers with a set of minimum standards for protection, gender and inclusion (PGI) in emergencies. It aims to ensure that the emergency programming of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and National Societies provides dignity, access, participation and safety for all people affected by disasters and crises. It provides practical guidance on how to mainstream these four principles in all sectors, based on a consideration of gender, age, disability and other diversity factors. This includes limiting people’s exposure to the risks of violence and abuse and ensuring that emergency programmes “do no harm”. The standards address protection, gender and inclusion concerns by providing practical ways to engage with all members of the community, respond to their differing needs and draw on their capacities in the most non-discriminatory and effective way. This helps to ensure that local perspectives guide assistance delivery. The standards also support incorporation of the seven Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (hereinafter referred to as “the Movement”).

Hundreds of thousands of children are associated with armed forces and armed groups in conflicts around the world. Girls and boys are used in a variety of ways from support roles, such as cooking or portering, to active fighting, laying mines or spying and girls are frequently used for sexual purposes. This recruitment and use of children violates their rights and causes them physical, developmental, emotional, mental, and spiritual harm. The recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups has been a focus of international attention and has been widely condemned, yet children continue to be involved in adult wars and to become disabled or die in such conflicts. While the release and reintegration into civilian life of many of these children has been supported through interventions and programmes designed to assist them, others have returned home on their own, often to face an uncertain future and a further fight for acceptance from their family and community. Girls in particular are likely to be stigmatized and even rejected by their community if it is known that they have been used by an armed force or armed group and the rejection of their children may be even more severe. Other children are encouraged by their families and communities to participate in armed conflict, despite the danger and harm this involves. Despite their experiences, such children are resilient and can contribute constructively to reconstruction and reconciliation efforts if given appropriate help, support and encouragement.

In a statement issued in December 2013, the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) affirmed that all humanitarian actors have a responsibility to place protection at the center of humanitarian action. As part of preparedness efforts, immediate and life-saving activities, and throughout the duration of a crisis and beyond, it is thus incumbent on Humanitarian Coordinators, Humanitarian Country Teams and clusters to ensure that “protection of all persons affected and at-risk [informs] humanitarian decision-making and response, including engagement with States and non-State parties to conflict.” The IASC has committed to a systemwide and comprehensive response to conflict and disasters. This response is driven by the needs and perspectives of affected persons, with protection at its core. This policy defines the centrality of protection in humanitarian action, as per the December 2013 statement of the IASC Principals, as well as the process for its implementation at country level. In doing so, it seeks to reinforce complementary roles, mandates and expertise of all relevant actors. Specifically, this policy emphasizes an IASC commitment to prioritize protection and contribute to collective protection outcomes, including through the development of an HCT protection strategy to address the most critical and urgent risks and violations. It also underlines the need to implement this commitment in all aspects of humanitarian action and across the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). As such, the collective IASC roles and responsibilities in placing protection at the center of humanitarian action are explained, with due consideration for mandates and expertise and in line with humanitarian principles.

Professional Standards for Protection Work (third edition) constitutes a set of minimum but essential standards aimed at ensuring that protection work carried out by human rights and humanitarian actors in armed conflict and other situations of violence is safe and effective. The standards reflect shared thinking and common agreement among humanitarian and human rights practitioners (UN, NGOs, and components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement). The standards were adopted following an ICRC-led consultation process. This third edition takes into account the changes that have occurred in the environment in which protection actors operate and now reflects the distinctive characteristics of human rights and humanitarian actors engaged in protection work. Given the rapid developments in information communication technology and concurrent growth in data-protection law, comprehensive guidelines on protection information management have also been incorporated. There is now a stronger emphasis on measuring the outcome of protection activities in terms of the extent to which identified risks have been reduced, and on monitoring and evaluation. There are more detailed orientations on the need to uphold a principled approach to protection work when interacting with UN peace operations and other multinational forces. This edition also seeks to clarify how counter-terrorism legislation may affect the activities of protection actors

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) sets out Nine Commitments that organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian response can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide. It also facilitates greater accountability to communities and people affected by crisis: knowing what humanitarian organisations have committed to will enable them to hold those organisations to account. The CHS places communities and people affected by crisis at the centre of humanitarian action and promotes respect for their fundamental human rights. It is underpinned by the right to life with dignity, and the right to protection and security as set forth in international law, including within the International Bill of Human Rights. As a core standard, the CHS describes the essential elements of principled, accountable and high-quality humanitarian action. Humanitarian organisations may use it as a voluntary code with which to align their own internal procedures. It can also be used as a basis for verification of performance, for which a specific framework and associated indicators have been developed to ensure relevance to different contexts and types of organisation.

For some years now, one of the concerted efforts of GAATW has been to put together a document that will clearly spell out the human rights of trafficked persons. The idea for such a document arose out of a discussion during the International Workshop on Migration and Traffic in Women in October 1994, organised by the Foundation for Women (FFW) in Thailand. NGOs and activists from different parts of the world present at the workshop felt that if a comprehensive document can be prepared it will be easier for its inclusion into the legal procedure. Subsequently a number of people contributed their expertise and time for the production of Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Trafficked Persons (SMR). Last November we revised the document and called it the Human Rights Standards for the Treatment of Trafficked Persons (HRS). The HRS includes an all-encompassing definition of trafficking, and a set of state responsibilities which ensures that trafficked persons are protected and their rights are promoted under human rights law. These responsibilities contain measures to provide trafficked persons with access to justice, private actions and reparations, access to the right to seek asylum, access to health and other services, and help with repatriation and reintegration in their home countries. This comprehensive document aims to promote respect for the human rights of individuals who have been victims of trafficking, including those who have been subjected to involuntary labour and/or slavery-like practices. The Human Rights Standards for the Treatment of Trafficked Persons (HRS) can be used as a guide in providing assistance to women and taking legal action against traffickers.

Human rights don’t disappear the moment an earthquake, a hurricane or a tsunami strikes. We witnessed after the Indian Ocean tsunami, the earthquake in Haiti and many other disaster situations that during relief and recovery efforts the protection of human rights gains in importance as it can safeguard the dignity of those affected. People are at their most vulnerable in times of crisis so preventing discrimination and abuse is vital. To promote and facilitate a rights-based approach to disaster relief, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) adopted Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters in 2006. The Guidelines are a major contribution to the promotion of a rights-based approach in situations of natural disasters. Following the feedback from the field-testing of the guidelines we have incorporate lessons-learned from the field into a revised version of the Guidelines. This revised version also expands the rights-based approach to include preparedness measures. Small steps in preparedness can have a major impact once a disaster strikes.

The overall objective of this framework document is to strengthen cooperation between IOM and UNHCR with respect to the identification and protection of victims of trafficking (VoTs). Specifically, the document intends to encourage the development of standard operating procedures between IOM and UNHCR at country level, and suggests a procedure for cooperation to ensure that the available expertise, capacities, and potential of each agency are effectively employed to deliver the best possible protection and assistance for victims of trafficking.The framework document highlights key areas for coordination and cooperation that are global in nature and should be adapted and adjusted to particular regional and national contexts. In particular, the document focuses on two areas where IOM and UNHCR play a key role: the identification of VoTs, the provision of protection and assistance and the promotion of sustainable solutions.