PROTECTION CLUSTER CONTINGENCY PLAN 01.05.2008 Contingencies covered: Scenario 1 Major Earthquake Scenario 2 Localised Earthquake Scenario 3 Seasonal Floods Scenario 4 Political Events Causing Humanitarian Crisis
SCENARIO 1 MAJOR EARTHQUAKE An earthquake measuring Magnitude 8 on the Richter scale and centred on the Kathmandu Valley hits the Himalayan region, causing deaths and damage in northern India, Nepal, China and Bhutan, effecting 50 million people. 1 The magnitude of the damage will require a regional response that will delay and complicate assistance. In hilly and mountainous areas, most roads, bridges and many airfields will be blocked by landslides and unusable for many days. On the plains and riverbeds, liquefaction will cause bridges and rail lines to weaken, warp or subside Hazard and risk analyze Not all affected communities or groups receive humanitarian assistance. - discrimination; - restrictions on access of humanitarian providers imposed by other actors; - theft; - lack of awareness of available assistance by victims; - inadequate attention to vulnerable groups; - threats to staff of humanitarian agencies from armed groups and criminal gangs. - difficulties in access by protection staff to the affected population due to flooding and other natural hazards. Objective Ensure protection of human rights during emergencies, in particular right of vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant and lactating women and female headed household, elderly and displaced persons. Strategy Comprehensive mapping of local, national and international resources for protection, and vulnerable groups (eg. marginalized and isolated), information sharing based on early warning indicators, monitoring during emergencies, advocacy and interventions, reporting, institution building. Overall Management and Coordination Arrangement lead agency Subgroups: Child protection Manage protection issues in the protection cluster and mainstream protection in other clusters Support regional and local responses Regular information sharing at monthly meetings Communications and logistics plan Summary of Cluster Response Plans 1 In 2001, the American Science journal predicted an 8.1 8.3 earthquake along the Himalayan Mountain front. The 1934 earthquake that devastated Kathmandu was 8.4
1. Rapid and Accurate Assessment: - identify high risk areas for human rights violations and abuse, including SGBV in the setting, - identify factors contributing to communal tensions - identify individuals who may be targeted for abuse, - assess existing security response and legal follow up, - identify availability of legal aid services for survivors/victims, - identify assets and resources in the community. 2. Coordination with other clusters. 3. Action Plan Issue Preventive Response Recovery Impact of the earthquake on the local population Rapid assessment Family tracing and reunification ICRC, NCRS Provide care and follow up Trauma counseling TPO Access to affected population by humanitarian actors BOGs Intervention on local level Awareness raising of victim rights Identification systems Coordination amongst humanitarian actors (including with BOGs group) OCHA Escorts DSS Protection capacity of district and VDC Support adequate and timely response from local police and judicial systems Monitoring the response of local, local HR Evidence based advocacy with local Displacement Advocacy for the implementation of national IDP directives NRC, OCHA,, Maintain the humanitarian and Rapid Assessment NRC, IRC Registration of IDPS NRC, Gvt Identification of vulnerable groups NRC, Advocacy for proper allocation of land for temporary shelter for IDPs IRC, NRC Advocate for safe and voluntary return
civilian character of camps for internally displaced persons Information, counseling and legal assistance NRC Discrimination (ethnic, caste, gender) in delivery of humanitarian assistance Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Ensure victims have information about assistance available Identify cases of discrimination Intervene with assistance providers to ensure awareness of standards/expectations OCHA Local integration Remedial action to prevent discriminatory distribution of assistance Ensure immediate assistance needs of discriminated groups are addressed in short term Tensions between local communities Share information on early warnings through the protection cluster All cluster members Confidence building activities UNMIN, Counter the occurrence of speech used to incite violence Dialogue with communities and leaders, political religious, national HR Dissemination of accurate information, national HR Dialogue with media to report accurately Confidence building activities SGBV Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians Document incidents of SGBV, national women NGOs Intervention to end and prevent incidents Provide care and counseling UNICEF/TPO
, UNFPA Pre-positioning of rape and pap-kits for medical provisions UNFPA Ensure safe space for women IRC, UNICEF Training on Code of Conduct for humanitarian workers UNICEF
SCENARIO TWO LOCALISED EARTHQUAKE Scenario Seasonal localized earthquake. 5 000 dead, injured and 21% of building destroyed. Medical systems will not be able to handle all cases. Road blockages. Rule of law will be. Looting, fighting chances are high. Reliable information will not be available for several days. Communication systems will not be working. Hazard and risk analyze Not all affected communities or groups receive humanitarian assistance. - discrimination; - restrictions on access of humanitarian providers imposed by other actors; - theft; - lack of awareness of available assistance by victims; - inadequate attention to vulnerable groups; - threats to staff of humanitarian agencies from armed groups and criminal gangs. - difficulties in access by protection staff to the affected population due to flooding and other natural hazards. Objective Ensure protection of human rights during emergencies, in particular right of vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant and lactating women and female headed household, elderly and displaced persons. Strategy Comprehensive mapping of local, national and international resources for protection, and vulnerable groups (eg. marginalized and isolated), information sharing based on early warning indicators, monitoring during emergencies, advocacy and interventions, reporting, institution building. Overall Management and Coordination Arrangement lead agency Subgroups: Child protection Manage protection issues in the protection cluster and mainstream protection in other clusters Support regional and local responses Regular information sharing at monthly meetings Communications and logistics plan Summary of Cluster Response Plans 4. Rapid and Accurate Assessment: - identify high risk areas for human rights violations and abuse, including SGBV in the setting, - identify factors contributing to communal tensions - identify individuals who may be targeted for abuse,
- assess existing security response and legal follow up, - identify availability of legal aid services for survivors/victims, - identify assets and resources in the community. 5. Coordination with other clusters. 6. Action Plan Issue Preventive Response Recovery Impact of the earth quake on the local population Rapid assessment Provide care and follow up Trauma counseling UNICEF/TPO Awareness raising of victim rights Access to affected population by humanitarian actors BOGs Intervention on local level Family tracing and reunification ICRC Identification systems Coordination amongst humanitarian actors (including with BOGs group) OCHA Escorts DSS Protection capacity of district and VDC Support adequate and timely response from local police and judicial systems Monitoring the response of local, local HR Evidence based advocacy with local Displacement Advocacy for the implementation of national IDP directives NRC, OCHA,, Maintain the humanitarian and civilian character of camps for internally displaced persons Rapid Assessment NRC, IRC Registration of IDPS NRC, Gvt Identification of vulnerable groups NRC, Advocacy for proper allocation of land for temporary shelter for IDPs IRC Advocate for safe and voluntary return NRC, IRC Information, counseling and legal assistance NRC
Discrimination (ethnic, caste, gender) in delivery of humanitarian assistance Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Ensure victims have information about assistance available Identify cases of discrimination Intervene with assistance providers to ensure awareness of standards/expectatio ns OCHA Local integration Remedial action to prevent discriminatory distribution of assistance Ensure immediate assistance needs of discriminated groups are addressed in short term Tensions between local communities Share information on early warnings through the protection cluster All cluster members Confidence building activities UNMIN, Counter the occurrence of speech used to incite violence Dialogue with communities and leaders, political religious, national HR Dissemination of accurate information, national HR Dialogue with media to report accurately Confidence building activities SGBV Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Document incidents of SGBV, national women NGOs Intervention to end and prevent incidents Provide specialized care and counseling ICRC
Pre-position of rape and pap kits for medical provisions UNFPA Ensure safe space for women IRC, UNICEF Training on Code of Conduct for humanitarian workers UNICEF
SCENARIO 3 FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES Scenario Seasonal flooding and landslides. Impact- between three and six thousand IDPs, for two to three weeks in a zone of five to ten kilometers. More severe flooding for more time. Destroyed houses and crops, loss of livestock, damage to infrastructure, separation of children from care givers, possible trauma and psychological stress. Reduced personal security, increased risks of GBV. Hazard and risk analyze Not all affected communities or groups receive humanitarian assistance. - discrimination; - restrictions on access of humanitarian providers imposed by other actors; - theft; - lack of awareness of available assistance by victims; - inadequate attention to vulnerable groups; - threats to staff of humanitarian agencies from armed groups and criminal gangs. - difficulties in access by protection staff to the affected population due to flooding and other natural hazards. Objective Ensure protection of human rights during emergencies, in particular right of vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant and lactating women and female headed household, elderly and displaced persons. Strategy Comprehensive mapping of local, national and international resources for protection, and vulnerable groups (eg. marginalized and isolated), information sharing based on early warning indicators, monitoring during emergencies, advocacy and interventions, reporting, institution building. Overall Management and Coordination Arrangement lead agency Subgroups: Child protection Manage protection issues in the protection cluster and mainstream protection in other clusters Support regional and local responses Regular information sharing at monthly meetings Communications and logistics plan Summary of Cluster Response Plans 7. Rapid and Accurate Assessment: - identify high risk areas for human rights violations and abuse, including SGBV in the setting, - identify factors contributing to communal tensions - identify individuals who may be targeted for abuse,
- assess existing security response and legal follow up, - identify availability of legal aid services for survivors/victims, - identify assets and resources in the community. 8. Coordination with other clusters. 9. Action Plan Issue Preventive Response Recovery Impact of flood on Rapid assessment the local population Provide care and follow up Awareness raising of victim rights Family tracing and re-unification ICRC, NRCS Trauma counseling UNICEF/TPO Access to affected population by humanitarian actors BOGs Intervention on local level Identification systems Coordination amongst humanitarian actors (including with BOGs group) OCHA Escorts DSS Protection capacity of district and VDC Displacement Support adequate and timely response from local police and judicial systems Advocacy for the implementation of national IDP directives NRC, OCHA,, Maintain the humanitarian and civilian character of camps for internally displaced persons Monitoring the response of local, local HR Rapid Assessment NRC, IRC Registration of IDPS NRC, Gvt Identification of vulnerable groups NRC, Evidence based advocacy with local Advocacy for proper allocation of land for temporary shelter for IDPs IRC Advocate for safe and voluntary return NRC, IRC Information, counseling and legal assistance
Discrimination (ethnic, caste, gender) in delivery of humanitarian assistance Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Ensure victims have information about assistance available Identify cases of discrimination Intervene with assistance providers to ensure awareness of standards/expectations OCHA NRC Remedial action to prevent discriminatory distribution of assistance Ensure immediate assistance needs of discriminated groups are addressed in short term Tensions between local communities Share information on early warnings through the protection cluster All cluster members Dialogue with communities and leaders, political religious, national HR Confidence building activities Confidence building activities UNMIN, Counter the occurrence of speech used to incite violence Dissemination of accurate information, national HR Dialogue with media to report accurately SGBV Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Pre-positioning of rape and pap-kits for medical provisions UNFPA Document incidents of SGBV, national women NGOs Intervention to end and prevent incidents Ensure safe space for women IRC, UNICEF Provide care and counseling UNICEF/TPO
Training on Code of Conduct for humanitarian workers UNICEF
SCENARIO 4 POLITICAL CONFLICT Scenario Communal violence and unrest affecting one or more districts, leading to displacement of parts of the population, restriction of freedom of movements, violations of human rights by security forces, abuses by other groups including illegal armed groups, recruitment of children to violent activities, breakdown in delivery of goods and services. Hazard and risk analyze Difficulties in access to the affected population due to road blocks and bandhs. Threats to staff of protection agencies. Excessive use of forces by security forces. Impunity and lack of rule of law in general. Breakdown in dialogue between different groups. Objective Ensure protection of human rights during emergencies, in particular right of vulnerable groups such as children, female headed household, displaced person: - Right to life - Right to physical integrity, liberty and security - Freedom of movement - Right to adequate housing - Right to education - Freedom of expression - Freedom of assembly and association - Non-discrimination Strategy Comprehensive mapping of local, national and international resources for protection, information sharing based on early warning indicators, monitoring during emergencies, advocacy and interventions, reporting, institution building. Overall Management and Coordination Arrangement lead agency, Subgroups: Child protection Manage protection issues in the protection cluster and mainstream protection in other clusters Support regional and local responses. Regular information sharing at monthly meetings. Communications and logistics plan Summary of Cluster Response Plans 10. Rapid and Accurate Assessment: - identify communities as risk - identify high risk areas for human rights violations and abuse, including SGBV in the setting, - identify factors contributing to communal tensions - identify individuals who may be targeted for abuse,
- assess existing security response and legal follow up, - identify availability of legal aid services for survivors/victims, - identify assets and resources in the community. 11. Coordination with other clusters. 12. Action Plan Issue Prevention Response Recovery Impact of violence on the local population Rapid assessment UNFPA,, IRC Provide care and follow up Access to affected population by humanitarian actors BOGs Documenting violations Intervention on local level Coordination amongst humanitarian actors (including with BOGs group) OCHA Escorts DSS Trauma counseling UNICEF/TPO Family tracing ICRC, NCRS Awareness raising of their (victim s) rights according to Nepal law Identification systems Protection capacity of district and VDC Tensions between local communities Support adequate and timely response from local police and judicial systems Share information on early warnings through the protection cluster All cluster members Confidence building activities UNMIN, Counter the occurrence of speech used to Monitoring the response of local, local HR Dialogue with communities and leaders, political religious, national HR Dissemination of accurate information, national HR Dialogue with media to report accurately Evidence based advocacy with local Confidence building activities
incite violence Actions of that violate HR Dialogue with (local and national) responsible for protecting HR to end ongoing violations, prevent new one s Identify HR violations, NHRC, national HR NGOs Document HR violations, NHRC, national HR NGos Advocacy to hold perpetrators accountable, national HR NGOs Displacement Discrimination (ethnic, caste, gender) in delivery of humanitarian assistance Advocacy for the implementation of national IDP directives NRC, OCHA, Maintain the humanitarian and civilian character of camps for internally displaced persons Strengthen the role of women as constructive actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Rapid Assessment NRC, IRC Registration of IDPS NRC, Gvt Identification of vulnerable groups NRC, Ensure victims have information about assistance available Identify cases of discrimination Intervene with assistance providers to ensure awareness of standards/expectations OCHA Advocacy for proper allocation of land for temporary shelter for IDPs IRC Ensure dignified and voluntary return Information, counseling and legal assistance NRC Remedial action to prevent discriminatory distribution of assistance Ensure immediate assistance needs of discriminated groups are addressed in short term SGBV Strengthen the role of women as constructive Document incidents of SGBV, national women Provide care and counseling UNICEF/TPO
actors in developing and implementing appropriate responses to protect civilians, UNFPA Pre-positioning of rape and papkits for medical provisions UNFPA NGOs Intervention to end and prevent incidents Ensure safe space for women IRC, UNICEF Training on Code of Conduct for humanitarian workers UNICEF