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Activities
Activity
1
(5 minutes)
To open the workshop, welcome the participants; explain that the humanitarian
principles training they are about to attend will provide them with a
framework in which to analyse the dilemmas that frequently arise in complex
emergencies from a child protection point of view, and to take decisions
on appropriate action. Say that it is necessary to apply UNICEF’s Guiding
Principles and emphasis on human rights-based approach to programming
also in UNICEF’s work in complex emergencies. This training will provide
participants with some tools to achieve this goal.
If you are holding
a full five-day workshop, you may want to invite a senior UNICEF staff
member to introduce these opening remarks, and to elaborate on the issue
of humanitarian principles.
Activity
2
(15 minutes)
Choose a suitable method for participants and facilitators to introduce
themselves.
Option 1:
"Introduction interviews
Distribute Handout
0.1: "Introduction ‘bingo’". Ask participants to read instructions
on the top of the sheet. "Find people in this room that fit the descriptions
in the squares below. Write their names in the relevant square. The first
person to write a different name in every square is the winner!"
Make sure everyone
understands what to do before the game begins. This should be a noisy
exercise with lots of chatter and movement, culminating in someone shouting
"bingo!" when her or his sheet is complete. You (and other facilitators)
should take part in the game.
At the end of
the game, take a minute or two to ask how people enjoyed the game and
if they made any surprising discoveries about their colleagues.
Option 2:
"Introduction ‘bingo’"
Ask participants
to turn to a neighbour and to get to know each other through an "interview".
They should ask for their partner’s name, occupation, current and previous
duty stations, plus some "general interest" questions such as
their favoured movie/movie director, book/author, dish, etc. Give the
pairs approx. 10 minutes.
Then in plenary,
ask each participant to introduce their partner.
Activity
3
(5 minutes)
Introduce the participants to the workshop objectives displayed on the
wall. You can read them out loud (or have a participant read them out
loud) or have participants read them silently. Explain that you will elaborate
on each of the four objectives in a few minutes.
Activity
4
(5 minutes)
Distribute Handout 0.2: "Workshop agenda". Review the
agenda with the participants. Answer any questions.
Activity
5
(5 minutes)
Briefly review the methodology of the workshop. Point out that although
there are many presentations made by the facilitator(s), participants
are asked to actively participate in exercises, role plays and discussions
throughout the workshop. Encourage them to ask questions at any time.
Show Overhead
Transparencies 0.8 and 0.9 with the "terms of reference"
for chairpersons and reporters. Explain that participants will have the
chance to serve as both chairperson and reporter during the group work.
Distribute Handout 0.3: "The chairperson" and Handout
0.4: "The reporter" so that participants can use these guidelines
as reference.
Activity
6
(2 to 5 min.)
If you are running a five-day workshop, now would be a good moment to
cover the "housekeeping" - the basics around the running of
the workshop in terms of participant materials, transport, travel, support
services, special announcements, etc. Some workshops will have a separate
room set aside for workshop support/secretarial help.
Make the required
announcements as described above. Using a checklist will help to ensure
nothing is forgotten. You can also use Overhead Transparency 0.10 to
guide you through your announcements.
Activity
7
(5 minutes)
For a five-day workshop, you should address participants’ expectations
and fears. If you have VIPP cards available, ask trainees to pick up some
cards from each colour. Colour one is for hopes and colour two for fears.
Prepare "hopes" and "fears" heading cards and place
them at opposite ends at the top of the board.
Ask participants
to write on colour one cards their expectations or hopes, how they perceive
the purpose of the workshop or what they hope to achieve by being there.
Ask them to write
on colour two cards their fears or doubts, if any.
Collect the cards
and group them as you pin them on the board. It is not necessary to repeat
hope and fears that come up several times. As you are doing this, briefly
comment on how you plan to address these hopes and fears. Assure the participants
that you will try to meet most of the expectations and allay most of the
fears. However, if they express expectations that cannot feasibly be met
in the workshop, you should make this clear.
If there are
no VIPP cards available, ask participants in plenary to express their
hopes and fears. Record their answers on flipchart. Proceed as explained
above for the card collection.
Activity
8
(10 minutes)
If you are holding a five-day workshop, you should also spend some time
to help participants establish "ground rules" for the workshop.
This will be particularly useful for discussions and group work, but can
also help to get people to be on time for the beginning of sessions, etc.
Ask participants
to share information on the following two questions. They can just call
out their opinion.
Question 1: Tell
us about some of the positive things that happened at other workshops.
Question 2: Tell
us about some of the things that happened at other workshops that you
really disliked/hated.
You might want
to share one of your pet loves and hates, to get the group started. Record
answers on a flipchart, using key words.
Invite the group
to turn the things they really hated into positive statements. Work with
the group to choose a number of statements which can be turned into "ground
rules". Select no more than six to start.
Write these statements
on flipchart paper and leave it permanently on the wall. Remind participants
that they can revisit these "ground rules" and add to them as
the workshop progresses.
Below are some
sample "ground rules" for your reference. Note, however, that
it is best for the group to generate their own list of rules, as they
will then "own" them in a way that they will never "own"
rules developed by others and handed to them.
Sample "ground
rules"
(A ground
rule can be defined as a basic agreement, reached by consensus, by a group,
which regulates how each member of the group will behave.)
- Leave your
"stripes" at the door.
- Start on
time, end on time.
- Trust, respect
and rely on one another.
- Keep sense
of humour.
- Reach consensus.
If consensus cannot be reached, have a clear decision making process.
- One person
speaks at a time.
- Treat all
members equally. No double standards.
- Manage time
well.
Activity
9
(20 minutes)
Using Overhead
Transparencies 0.3 to 0.6, make a presentation on the four
main objectives of the humanitarian principles training. State that the
training should enable participants to:
1. Help humanitarian
workers adopt a child rights-based approach to programming in complex
emergencies.
Why do we
need a child rights-based approach?
A rights-based
approach is fundamentally different from a needs-based approach. Approaching
a situation from the rights perspective informs and empowers people of
what their legal rights are. In our efforts to adopt the rights-based
approach for the benefit of women and children in complex emergencies,
the main instruments to draw upon are the Convention on the Rights of
the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women, as well as instruments that form part of international
humanitarian law. By approaching the needs of children from a rights perspective,
all action on behalf of children is based on their rights as a matter
of law, not simply on the fact that they need a certain type of response.
Using child
rights as a framework for situation analysis.
A child rights
framework allows you to look at the rights of children from a holistic
point of view. All various aspects of the protection of the child’s right
to life, survival and development are addressed in the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. By using the Convention as the point of departure,
you will be sure to cover all aspects of the child’s life. The rights
framework will allow you to analyse and understand the mix of causes which
stop the child from enjoying its rights.
Learning the
"rights language".
Although a rights-based
approach does not mean changing the way we do everything, it does carry
with it a responsibility to be familiar with the human rights framework,
as well as draw upon and apply the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and other human rights instruments. Looking at the situation of the child
from a rights perspective also means describing the situation in rights
terminology. For example, in a situation where you need to advocate for
new health facilities for children, you would say that children have a
right to "enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health"
in accordance with Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Since the country you are working in has ratified the Convention this
is a legally binding provision. This is fundamentally different from saying
that the child NEEDS good health care.
Helping humanitarian
workers to better protect the rights of women and children.
Ultimately, by
using a rights framework humanitarian aid will become more principled.
If we speak out for the rights of the child in one situation, we also
have to be firm and speak out for the same rights in a different setting
or situation. Rights are not relative to culture, religion, traditions,
or politics. It is the duty of humanitarian workers to assist States in
their efforts to "respect and ensure" the rights in the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
(Overhead
Transparency 0.3)
2. Analyse
the characteristics of complex emergencies in order to better understand
the causes of conflict and the dilemma that arise.
Understanding
the characteristics and causes of conflict will assist us in taking a
holistic approach to the situation analysis.
In carrying out
an analysis from a rights perspective it is important to be aware of what
the international human rights framework has to offer in terms of analysis
already carried out. Today there is a vast amount of information on the
human rights situation in all parts of the world easily available on the
Internet. Knowing why human rights abuses occur in the situation by using
a rights framework humanitarian aid will become more principled.
Understanding
the causes of conflict will allow us to better understand the dilemma
created from a child protection perspective.
Knowing the dilemma
normally created for children situations of armed conflict will help us
identify the issues, as well as adopt a holistic approach to the situation,
and carry out an appropriate analysis.
(Overhead
Transparency 0.4)
3. Learn about
international legal and ethical standards for the provision of humanitarian
assistance and protection of children in armed conflicts. Without knowing
the standards you cannot argue or use "rights terminology".
Humanitarian
principles.
Session 2 introduces
the fundamental humanitarian principles on which humanitarian action is
based, namely the humanitarian imperative, neutrality, impartiality, respect
for culture and custom, enhanced capacity building, and coordinated efforts.
Human rights
law and frameworks.
Session 5 describes
in some detail the international legal instruments that form human rights
law, including the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This session lays out the international
human rights framework and describes how it can be transformed into a
practical tool for humanitarian actors.
Humanitarian
law.
Session 4 presents
international humanitarian law, i.e. the laws of war, including the law
applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts. The
law applicable in the type of armed conflicts that occur today, namely
internal conflicts with various degrees of intensity, is the focus of
this session. Session 4 also introduces the newly adopted Statute of the
International Criminal Court.
Child rights.
The entire module
looks at the situation from a child rights perspective, but in particular
session 7 looks at addressing some of the issues typically arising for
children in complex emergencies, such as child soldiers and demobilization,
displaced children, birth registration, tracing and family reunification,
sexual exploitation and gender-based violence, children in conflict with
the law and in detention, as well as the impact of landmines on children.
This session looks at the legal standards which address these problematic
areas, but strategic guidelines on how to address these issues are also
included.
(Overhead
Transparency 0.5)
4. Identify
dilemmas and principles at stake for humanitarian practitioners and design
practical strategies for the protection of the rights of the child.
Working with
all actors involved in a conflict, including non-state entities.
Part of the focus
on this module is on working together with non-state entities. Chapter
6 looks at the implications of humanitarian action in territory controlled
by non-state entities.
Designing
advocacy for national and international purposes.
One of the main
purposes of the module is to make international human rights and humanitarian
law a practical tool for advocacy, both at the national and international
levels. The closing session in particular designs a step by step agenda
for adopting a human rights approach to programming in complex emergencies.
Using humanitarian
principles and the concept "children as a zone of peace" as
frameworks for addressing child protection issues.
The Graça
Machel study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children in its concluding
paragraph calls upon states and other actors to make children a zone of
peace. The closing session of this module looks at means and strategies
for making this a reality. It also looks at other more general agreements
concluded with non-state entities, such as the agreements concluded between
Operation Lifeline Sudan and non-state entities in southern Sudan.
Coordinating
the child protection input with other actors for maximum impact.
It is impossible
for one organization to deal with everything under the sun. Creating an
alliance of partnerships at both the local and international levels therefore
is pertinent to a holistic rights-based approach.
Good monitoring
and fact-finding practices in complex emergencies.
From a practical
point of view some of the exercises in Session 7 look at developing good
monitoring and fact-finding practices in complex emergencies. It attempts
to answer questions such as "what type of information should we be
looking for?" and "how do we collect the information we need?"
Deciding on
the level of protection: What type of reporting and action is appropriate.
In any protection
activity it becomes important for the actor to look at what level of protection
is appropriate. If there is a need to provide protection activities for
individual cases (for example visiting detained children), this requires
a great deal of resources and trained staff who are able to carry out
direct protection activities. Advocacy on behalf of all children (for
example reviewing juvenile justice system in a country) is not as time
and resource consuming as dealing with individual cases.
(Overhead
Transparency 0.6)
Activity
10
(10 - 15 min.)
Allow some 10 minutes for questions and answers.
If you are holding
this Opening Session in conjunction with Session 8, you should allow another
five minutes to refer to the pre-workshop assignment, i.e. Reading
0.1, and discuss with participants how well emergencies are covered
and provided for in the policy document.
Activity
11
(5 minutes)
Distribute Reading 0.2: "Introduction to a child rights protection
approach to complex emergencies". Explain that this reading contains
the information you just covered in your presentation. Wrap-up the session.
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PowerPoint:
Introduction to the workshop 
