Workshop for EU staff on effective humanitarian advocacy

The Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre provided a training session for staff of the European Commission on effective and strategic advocacy on international humanitarian law (IHL).

Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are affected by humanitarian crises and conflicts. The diversity of contexts and protection issues in the region requires innovative advocacy approaches.

In November, the Centre provided a workshop for regional staff of the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). During the session, the Centre presented a new framework to enhance strategic engagement.

This framework was developed to support practitioners engaged in humanitarian advocacy to help them tailor IHL engagement to the context. The framework ensures that the approach remains nuanced and adaptable, and that it enhances the strategic use of relevant bodies of international law to increase protection.

The session focused on different experiences in the Latin America and Caribbean region and offered practical tips for strategic engagement and decision-making in the promotion of IHL. For example, when does it make sense to refer to IHL, and when not? How can humanitarian protection be strengthened when IHL is not applicable or when actors do not accept that it applies?

The session for regional experts followed a previous workshop, in which more than 120 ECHO staff from different regions was introduced to the framework and shared experiences of engagement with IHL.