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Self Report 2018

The self-report on WHS Commitments below is organized according to the 24 transformations of the Agenda for Humanity. It is based on commitments pledged at the time of report submission. Click on the 'Expand' symbol to expand each section and read the reporting inputs by transformation.

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  • 2A
    Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to monitor and report on the human rights impact of the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to promote and enhance the protection of civilians and civilian objects, especially in the conduct of hostilities, for instance by working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and by sparing civilian infrastructure from military use in the conduct of military operations.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) field presences, including human rights components of peace missions, have monitored the use and impact of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine and Yemen. OHCHR reports include statistics on the percentage of civilian casualties attributable to the use of explosive weapons, and their impact on civilian infrastructure, including schools and access to water. Some of these reports also formulated recommendations to the parties to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties resulting from the use of these weapons. Several press statements and briefings issued by OHCHR made references to the impact of the use of explosive weapons in urban areas, concerning for example Syria and Yemen.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Despite OHCHR and other agencies’ work, parties to armed conflicts continue to lack respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which has a negative impact on the protection of civilian populations.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Field conditions, including insecurity and access
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Other: Technical capacity of human rights monitors on weapons and their effects to identify weapons used and their human rights impact.
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    The main challenge faced is the continued disrespect of human rights and humanitarian law impacting civilian lives, as indicated above. 

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    OHCHR will continue to monitor and report on the human rights impact of the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas. OHCHR headquarters will, when consulted by field presences operating in contexts of armed conflict, encourage these presences to implement a monitoring strategy that includes a focus on the impact of the use explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas. 

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    Continued advocacy of various human rights and humanitarian actors on the short and long-term consequences of the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects on civilians and civilian infrastructure and the need for parties to armed conflicts to stop using such weapons in densely populated areas. 

    Keywords

    IHL compliance and accountability, Protection

  • 2B
    Ensure full access to and protection of the humanitarian and medical missions

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to continue to advise Member States on their counter-terrorism and counter-violent extremism laws and responses to ensure that they are in compliance with international human rights law and do not impede humanitarian action.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to further promoting the relevance of the economic, social and cultural rights legal framework for the assessment of the impact of restrictions on humanitarian access.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to ensure all populations in need receive rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Commit to promote and enhance efforts to respect and protect medical personnel, transports and facilities, as well as humanitarian relief personnel and assets against attacks, threats or other violent acts.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provided regular legal and policy advice on human rights while countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism in Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Myanmar and Boko-Haram affected countries. OHCHR prepared the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly (A/72/316) highlighting the critical role of human rights in preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism, with reference to observations by, and initiatives of the OHCHR, the Human Rights Council, special procedures and human rights treaty bodies.

    Along with online trainings conducted for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, OHCHR, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have built capacities of officials and civil society representatives in countries in the Lake Chad Basin region on the development of guidance materials and the delivery of training on gender mainstreaming and women’s rights in the investigation and prosecution of offenses by terrorist groups, as well as in the support provided to victims.

    As Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Working Group (WG) on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and the Rule of Law while Countering Terrorism, OHCHR delivered a global human rights capacity-building project for law enforcement, to support the integration of human rights in the counter-terrorism initiatives of security and law enforcement officials, as well as through their cross-border and regional cooperation in Jordan, Iraq, Mali, Nigeria and Tunisia.

    Based on expert meetings, in 2017, OHCHR developed and tested in Fiji and Tunisia a framework on the integration of economic, social and cultural rights into human rights analysis, including the identification of risk factors for violence, conflict and escalating violations of human rights.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    OHCHR’s assessment is based on the extent of increased alignment with international human rights norms and standards, both at the national and international level, of policies, laws and practices to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Adherence to standards and/or humanitarian principles
    • Human resources/capacity
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Some States have adopted measures that infringe human rights through legislation based upon vague notions of ‘terrorism’ or ‘extremism’; expanded executive authority without effective safeguards and oversight; exercise of excessive powers by, and militarization of law enforcement, as well as discriminatory practices; and use and entrenchment of exceptional measures.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Building the evidence-base through implementation of a research agenda on human rights and drivers of violent extremism and terrorism; and on the contribution of human rights to effective prevention of violent extremism/countering terrorism (PVE/CT) efforts.
    • Strategic advocacy delivered to promote human rights as a tool for prevention and integral to effective PVE and CT efforts.
    • Enhanced expertise, awareness-raining, monitoring/reporting and training capacity for authorities, security forces including border control and immigration.
    • Use of the early warning framework for protracted humanitarian crises.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    A system-wide commitment that the UN’s counter-terrorism and preventing violent extremism efforts in the field will be supported by UN Headquarters through country specific or regional coordination efforts to ensure that all projects are grounded in respect for international law, including international human rights law and, where relevant, international humanitarian law.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    Through the “Faith for Rights” initiative, OHCHR has been engaging with faith-based actors, who adopted in March 2017 the Beirut Declaration and its 18 commitments on “Faith for Rights”. This covers the full spectrum of human rights responsibilities of religious leaders, including Commitment XIV concerning humanitarian assistance activities (see https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/FaithForRights.aspx).

    Keywords

    Gender, IHL compliance and accountability, Protection, Religious engagement

  • 2C
    Speak out on violations

    Individual Commitments (6)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to continue monitoring, investigating, analysing and reporting on human rights violations and abuses, as well as violations of international humanitarian law where relevant, through its field presences, by mandating and conducting fact-finding missions and by supporting United Nations mandated commissions of inquiries and other mechanisms with a view to establishing facts, contributing to accountability and enhancing the protection afforded by international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to monitor and report on the impact of armed conflict on humanitarian and health care workers and facilities, as well as on other human rights defenders in view of ensuring the enjoyment of human rights, as part of its overall reporting on violations of international humanitarian law.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to strengthen national protection mechanisms and increase its support for national human rights actors, including national human rights institutions and civil society organisations in their effort to monitor and report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during emergencies.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR will continue to speak out and systematically condemn violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law through various forms of advocacy including bilateral engagement with relevant parties.
    • Advocacy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR will support increased efforts to track and collect data in situations of armed conflict on alleged violations of international human rights law and where relevant international humanitarian law, and strengthen its work in reporting on trends regarding such allegations and gaps in compliance with these bodies of law.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR will work, in coordination with UN and other partners, to ensure that information of potential, emerging or actual violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and broader threats to populations, is efficiently brought together, managed and jointly analysed to provide early warning information and to guide early UN responses.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continued to record civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, occupied Palestinian territories, Somalia, Ukraine, and Yemen, and adapted its Human Rights Case Database to include reporting on migrants, persons with disabilities in humanitarian contexts, health care workers and facilities, and the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated area.

    As part of the Human Rights Up Front (HRUF) inter-agency task force on the common UN information management (IM) system, OHCHR supported several country-level stocktaking exercises to produce risk assessments and specific recommendations for remedy and preventive action. OHCHR supported the deployment of three multi-disciplinary teams in the framework of the HRUF in response to an identified risk of deterioration and to strengthen the UN capacity on the ground. An inter-agency technical IM working group was created at Headquarters (HQ).

    OHCHR actively engaged in UN efforts to ensure respect for international human rights and humanitarian law in crisis settings through commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions and other investigative bodies in Burundi, DRC, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. OHCHR monitored and reported critical human rights issues in 26 public reports and 153 press releases, and the High Commissioner delivered 140 public speeches. 43 country-specific reports were submitted to the Human Rights Council, and 19 to the GA.

    The impact of conflict on health was covered in reports on Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Ukraine.

    OHCHR provided advice and/or assistance for the establishment or strengthening of some 70 national human rights institutions.

    OHCHR engaged in Intern-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) processes bringing human rights issues to the forefront.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    • By applying processes/indicators developed to measure WHS commitments specifically.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Reviews are organized to assess the value added, impact and lessons learned following missions or inquiries. Enhanced sharing of information, laying the ground for common analysis and identification of targeted actions were among the positive outcomes of multi-disciplinary teams identified during the stocktaking exercises.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Buy-in
    • Field conditions, including insecurity and access
    • Multi-stakeholder coordination
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    • Lack of access to affected areas hinders accurate data collection and analysis.
    • Multidisciplinary team could not be deployed in all contexts and situations that may have benefited from such a presence. The reasons were manifold, including hesitance from different key stakeholders at headquarters or at country level.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Testing of the methodological and data collection framework for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 16.1.2 on the number of conflict-related deaths.
    • Additional chapters to the OHCHR Manual on Human Rights Monitoring will be published covering topics as trial observation, monitoring in emergencies, monitoring and protecting women’s human rights, and gathering and verifying information.
    • OHCHR plans to extend its Human Rights Case Database to all its field presences.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    The Secretary-General’s current reforms and initiatives in this respect will shed some lights on the outcome of some key processes to define the future strategy of OHCHR.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    In order to promote regular public human rights reporting in crisis settings where peace operations are deployed, OHCHR led a study, jointly with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), to document good practices, lessons learned and challenges with regard to public human rights reporting by UN peace operations.

    Keywords

    Disability, IHL compliance and accountability

  • 2D
    Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability

    Individual Commitments (9)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Through its humanitarian funds, OHCHR commits to continue providing direct assistance to victims of torture and of modern slavery by means of grants awarded to non-governmental organisations in emergency situations.
    • Financial
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to continue advocating for accountability and the right of victims to an effective remedy, including gender-sensitive reparations and due regard for the protection of victims and witnesses, for gross human rights violations and abuses, including those amounting to crimes under international law, and providing technical assistance to States on specific accountability mechanisms.
    • Advocacy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to continue reminding parties to a conflict of their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as well as third states of their obligation to ensure respect of these bodies of law, through advocacy, training and technical assistance.
    • Advocacy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to continue to offer training in international human rights law and where appropriate international humanitarian law, to armed forces and relevant law enforcement agencies as well as to continue engaging with armed groups on compliance with relevant legal norms and standards.
    • Training
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to continuing to raise awareness about the international human rights treaties and their optional protocols, to produce trainings materials and to offer advisory services to States in this regard.
    • Advocacy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to contribute to the development of guidance and methodology to investigate sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian personnel.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to providing capacity building and/or other support to civil society organisations and Member States in addressing SGBV and holding perpetrators accountable, including the investigation, prosecution and punishment of persons responsible for SGBV and ensuring an effective remedy, including gender-sensitive reparations, for victims.
    • Capacity
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR commits to strengthening policy guidance and capacity for monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence (MARA) in UN peace operations and other relevant contexts, including better coordination and strategies with other humanitarian actors in this regard.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • OHCHR will continue to offer technical assistance to States in drafting national legislation fully encompassing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other gross human rights violations.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (4)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Implement a coordinated global approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in crisis contexts, including through the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability

    In 2017, the United Nations (UN) Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture supported 173 projects, totalling US$ 7.12 million, in 75 countries, and assisted nearly 50,000 victims, including 2,530 girls and 21,462 women often affected by armed conflict as well as 2,820 Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors. The UN Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery supported 33 projects in 32 countries, assisting more than 10,000 victims.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) advocated with armed groups on compliance with legal norms and standards, including in The Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Mali and Ukraine, on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) implementation and the legality of detention.

    With MINUSCA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic), OHCHR finalized a mapping report documenting violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in CAR between 2003 and 2015.

    OHCHR launched a general treaty reporting manual and trainers guide, and built capacities of over 350 State officials from 135 countries. OHCHR supported the establishment of national coordination mechanisms for reporting and follow-up through the Universal Human Rights Index.

    Gender-based violence prevention and response

    OHCHR contributed to the Secretary-General’s strategy for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), particularly on aspects related to upholding victims’ rights, strengthening investigations, and victim and witness protection, and its implementation. The Office engaged in the development of the Voluntary Compact on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA).

    To strengthen accountability for sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), OHCHR ensured integration of gender considerations into works of commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions and investigations. With UN Women, SGBV advisors were deployed to investigative bodies on Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (Kasai), Myanmar, South Sudan and Yemen.

    Jointly with the DPKO, The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (O/SRSG-SVC), The Team of Experts on the Rule of Law/Sexual Violence (ToE) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), OHCHR delivered the fourth edition of the Training of Trainers course on prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) for focal points from six peacekeeping operations.

    In Sri Lanka, OHCHR supported the Government’s efforts to archive materials from the national consultations, and initiated consultations on reparations for victims of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV).

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Technical evaluation and pre-screening in situ visits to projects are conducted periodically by the Fund’s Secretariat and Trustees, as well as field presences.

    Through an in-house SGBV desk, OHCHR strengthened gender analysis, documentation of, and attention to cases and trends of SGBV, including CRSV, in its public reports and inputs.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Gender and/or vulnerable group inclusion
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Strengthening national/local systems
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    • Ensuring sustainable funding mostly drawn from earmarked contributions for the Torture and Slavery Funds is challenging.
    • Lack of access and security, and diverse organizational tools hinder coherent monitoring, prevention and responses to CRSV.
    • More effective UN preventive and response efforts to SEA is needed to ensure accountability for victims.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • The Torture and Slavery Funds will fund 163 and 29 projects, respectively in 2018.
    • An electronic tool for screening UN staff will be rolled out in 2018 aimed at identifying personnel dismissed as a result of substantiated SEA allegations, or who resigned or were dismissed during an investigation.
    • A guidance note to strengthen the documentation and analysis of sexual violence will be launched for more effective and rights-based prevention and responses to SGBV.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • Strengthened and diversified donor base as well as outreach efforts for both funds.
    • Rights-based, gender-informed and victims-centred prevention and response to SGBV particularly in conflict, post-conflict and humanitarian settings settings.
    • OHCHR will lead the Policy on a Human Rights-Based Approach to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse to guide UN personnel accordingly, including on aspects relating to investigations.
    • Continued and constant coordination of UN entities involved in the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements (MARA) to avoid overlaps and to achieve coherent results.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    OHCHR contributed to greater awareness of human rights dimensions of SEA by advocating for victims-centered approaches in UN investigations, in the delivery of assistance and in communications.

    Grantees of the Funds are encouraged to interact with the UN Human Rights Programme, enabling outreach to grass root initiatives in remote/inaccessible areas.

    Keywords

    Gender, IHL compliance and accountability, PSEA

  • 2E
    Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR will join a global effort to mobilize states, civil society and global leaders to enhance respect for international humanitarian and human rights law.
    • Operational
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Throughout 2017, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organized various activities in the course of the global campaign entitled "Stand up for someone's rights today", launched in December 2016. It called everyone to exercise their right to defend the rights of others, share positive stories and to help counter hatred and xenophobia.

    On 10 December 2017, OHCHR observed Human Rights Day by launching a campaign to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The year-long initiative provides an opportunity to promote, engage with and reflect on the Declaration and its relevance in everyday life. The launch was marked on 10 December with various activities, e.g. conferences, press releases, public debates, film festivals, awareness-raising meetings, by UN agencies, partners and OHCHR’s field presences, including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Jamaica, Libya, Haiti, Guatemala, Georgia, Mali, Palestine, Peru, Russia, Senegal, Slovakia, South Sudan, Togo, Qatar, Indonesia, the United Kingdom.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    The year 2018 will be dedicated to marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is a continuation of the "Stand up for someone’s rights today" initiative of 2017. Through a year-long campaign that will culminate on the day of the Declaration’s 70th birthday on 10 December, Human Rights Day, OHCHR aims to highlight what the Declaration means to people everywhere in their everyday lives.

    For more information see the campaign website – www.standup4humanrights.org

    Social media: #standup4humanrights

  • 3A
    Reduce and address displacement

    Core Commitments (5)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new approach to addressing forced displacement that not only meets immediate humanitarian needs but reduces vulnerability and improves the resilience, self-reliance and protection of refugees and IDPs. Commit to implementing this new approach through coherent international, regional and national efforts that recognize both the humanitarian and development challenges of displacement. Commit to take the necessary political, policy, legal and financial steps required to address these challenges for the specific context.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Commit to promote and support safe, dignified and durable solutions for internally displaced persons and refugees. Commit to do so in a coherent and measurable manner through international, regional and national programs and by taking the necessary policy, legal and financial steps required for the specific contexts and in order to work towards a target of 50 percent reduction in internal displacement by 2030.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Acknowledge the global public good provided by countries and communities which are hosting large numbers of refugees. Commit to providing communities with large numbers of displaced population or receiving large numbers of returnees with the necessary political, policy and financial, support to address the humanitarian and socio-economic impact. To this end, commit to strengthen multilateral financing instruments. Commit to foster host communities' self-reliance and resilience, as part of the comprehensive and integrated approach outlined in core commitment 1.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Commit to collectively work towards a Global Compact on responsibility-sharing for refugees to safeguard the rights of refugees, while also effectively and predictably supporting States affected by such movements.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Commit to actively work to uphold the institution of asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. Commit to support further accession to and strengthened implementation of national, regional and international laws and policy frameworks that ensure and improve the protection of refugees and IDPs, such as the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol or the AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala convention) or the Guiding Principles on internal displacement.
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    IDPs (due to conflict, violence, and disaster)

    The Special Rapporteur (SR) on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) organized stakeholder meetings to promote strategic action to reduce internal displacement inline with the Guiding Principles. This launched the development of a multi-stakeholder Plan of Action for 2018 to enhance protection, prevent and resolve internal displacement.

    The mandate collaborated with the Joint IDP Profiling Service to develop tools and methodologies in an effort to generate better evidence. As a member of the Expert Group on Refugee and IDP Statistics, the mandate contributed to the technical report on IDP statistics.

    To support the Africa Union, and law- and policy-making processes on internal displacement, the SR promoted the implementation of the Kampala Convention and attended the first meeting of the Conference of States Parties. The mandate chaired the Global Protection Cluster's (GPC’s) Task Team on Law and Policy.

    The SR conducted country visits to El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and several capitals in donor countries.

    Keywords

    Displacement

  • 3B
    Address the vulnerabilities of migrants and provide more regular and lawful opportunities for migration

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to developing principles and practical guidance on the human rights protection of migrants in situations of vulnerability within mixed movements in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.
    • Policy
    • Leave No One Behind
    • OHCHR commits to enhance its own capacity to monitor the human rights situation of migrants in humanitarian contexts and to build the capacity of relevant stakeholders to uphold the human rights of migrants.
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as co-chair of the Global Migration Group Working Group on Migration, Human Rights and Gender Equality, continued to lead the development of a set of principles and guidelines, supported by practical guidance, on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations. These principles and guidelines are designed to assist Member States to respond to the situation of migrants who may not qualify as refugees yet who are in need of human rights protection. A progress report was presented to the Human Rights Council (HRC) at its 34th session and a final draft was submitted to the Council in March 2018 at its 37th session. 

    OHCHR also continued its work on linkages between migration and climate change (see reporting under climate 4B).

    OHCHR dispatched a technical assistance and monitoring mission to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, focusing on the human rights of migrants in transit and upon return and the protection gaps faced by migrants in vulnerable situations.

    Based on the monitoring missions carried out to border and transit locations in Europe in late 2016, OHCHR published In Search of Dignity: Report on the human rights of migrants at Europe's borders, detailing common concerns identified throughout the countries visited.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    OHCHR assesses its performance on the basis on the internal monitoring plan and based on the organization’s management plan. Moreover, OHCHR receives feedback from stakeholders who use the Principles and Guidelines to assess the assistance provided to migrants by States and international actors in particular countries.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Buy-in
    • Data and analysis
    • Human resources/capacity
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Human and financial capacity constraints affect overall sustained engagement at headquarters (HQ) and field level on the human rights of migrants in humanitarian contexts, including to monitor human rights protection gaps of migrants in humanitarian contexts and to build the capacity of relevant stakeholders to uphold the human rights of migrants.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    The New York Declaration committed to address the particular needs of migrants in vulnerable situations. It indicated that these could be included in the Global Compact for migration (para 23, Annex II para. 8i). OHCHR will seek to advance the implementation of the principles and guidelines, possibly through their integration into the Global Compact. OHCHR will also continue to monitor the human rights situation of migrants and deliver capacity building on migration and human rights.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    Within the UN system, it is essential that going forward, there is a whole-of-system approach by which the expertise of the various entities is harnessed to ensure complementarity and the UN acting as one.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    OHCHR produced the Principles and Guidelines through its chairmanship of a working group under the Global Migration Group. In this, OHCHR contributes to interagency coordination and a coherent, whole-of-system approach to the issue of migration, which is complex and multidimensional and encompasses the mandates of a wide variety of agencies.

    Keywords

    Displacement, Migrants, Protection

  • 3D
    Empower and protect women and girls

    Individual Commitments (4)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to continue to promote and support implementation of the Technical Guidance on the application of a human rights based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes for the reduction of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity (A/HRC/21/22), including the development and dissemination, in collaboration with partners, of reflection guides for health policy makers, national human rights institutions, health workers and the judiciary.
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind
    • OHCHR commits to enhance engagement with children, adolescents and women, including by facilitating national multi-stakeholder dialogues and capacity building activities with civil society actors on the international norms related to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
    • Partnership
    • Leave No One Behind
    • OHCHR commits to partner with local and national women's groups to provide women's groups with capacity building tools and training to increase their ability to claim their rights in humanitarian settings.
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind
    • OHCHR commits to strengthening tools and capacity for integration of gender into its monitoring and investigation work in humanitarian contexts to ensure rights-based responses that do not perpetuate discrimination, promote equality and give greater recognition and support to women's roles as peace makers and agents of resilience in communities affected by conflict or natural disasters.
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind

    Core Commitments (4)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Empower Women and Girls as change agents and leaders, including by increasing support for local women's groups to participate meaningfully in humanitarian action.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the Outcome documents of their review conferences for all women and adolescent girls in crisis settings.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Ensure that humanitarian programming is gender responsive.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continued to build the capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to document violations of international human rights norms in humanitarian settings. With the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), OHCHR organized a regional capacity-building workshop on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Ethiopia.

    OHCHR promotes a human rights-based approach to addressing maternal mortality and morbidity, including in humanitarian settings, utilizing the Human Rights Council's (HRC’s) Technical Guidance on maternal mortality and morbidity. OHCHR’s forthcoming implementation report on this guidance to the HRC will seek to highlight gaps and key elements of a human rights based approach in humanitarian settings. The Guidance formed the basis for OHCHR's  engagement with the High Level Working Group on Health and Human Rights, which released their 2017 report entitled: “Leading the realization of human rights to health and through health”, and the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy on Women's Children's and Adolescent Health, both of which have a particular focus on humanitarian and fragile settings.

    With the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) programme commencing in 2017, OHCHR strengthened its efforts of the integration of a gender perspective, the analysis and classification of sexual violence, and prevention and protection responses, particularly in humanitarian settings. OHCHR supported the work of commissions of inquiries on South Sudan and Burundi through various capacity building exercises, and in reports on Ukraine, DRC, Somalia and Central African Republic (CAR) through internal guidance on the integration of gender and classification of sexual violence.

    OHCHR is currently developing two guidance tools to enhance the integration of gender in the work of investigative bodies and the analysis and classification of sexual violence incidents.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    • Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Assessing progress involves the development of a civil society network working in humanitarian contexts on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); specific uptake of the Technical Guidance (TG) by the SG Global Strategy and related processes regarding humanitarian settings and further gender integration; and coherent and consistent application of SGBV monitoring and investigation methodologies concerning humanitarian contexts.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Field conditions, including insecurity and access
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Information management/tools
    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    Continued engagements in international processes, including the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crisis, and with partners at country level; capacity building for gender integration in monitoring and documenting SGBV; publication of the external Guidance Note on gender integration in investigations and of the tool on the analysis of sexual violence.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • Systematic integration of a human rights based and gender-sensitive approach in humanitarian processes.
    • In collaboration with partners, including civil society actors, building on achievements, capacity building and implementation of concrete follow-up activities, including engagement with international human rights mechanisms.
    • Increased collective attention to sexual and reproductive health and rights in humanitarian assessments and responses.
    • Ensure the full engagement across investigative teams to integrate gender; and ensure the continued placement of gender experts on these teams.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    OHCHR and the World Health Organization (WHO) entered into a Framework of Cooperation which sets the basis for increased collaboration in the area of health and human rights, including in the context of humanitarian settings.

    Keywords

    Gender, Protection

  • 3G
    Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to enhance its capacity to monitor, report and advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all stages of the humanitarian management cycle, upholding international human rights standards.
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind
    • OHCHR will support the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action and follow-up actions related to the development of internationally agreed guidelines for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all stages of the humanitarian management cycle.
    • Policy
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has joined the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, tasked to develop the IASC Guidelines on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, which will strengthen accountability to persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies. The Guidelines are envisaged to assist governments, humanitarian actors and affected communities to plan, implement and evaluate actions resulting in the full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all phases of humanitarian action.

    In order to build in-house capacity, in November 2017, OHCHR organized a training for its staff on humanitarian action, which included a disability perspective across the programme. During the training, the OHCHR Human Rights and Disability Advisor briefed to 25 participants from field presences and headquarters.

    As a member of the Advisory Steering Group of the Disability Statistics in Humanitarian action project, OHCHR contributed to the improvement of disability prevalence assessment in humanitarian contexts, including through initiatives to test the use of the Washington Group questions during emergencies and support the development of guidance thereon for humanitarian actors.  

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    The measure for the development of the IASC guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action is completion of the guidelines through multi-stakeholder processes, i.e. the IASC. 

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Other: Adherence to human rights standards
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    The impact of the challenge for the guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action to be compliant with human rights standards remains to be seen, but the risk is draft guidelines that do not meet aspirations of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    OHCHR will continue to contribute to the development of the IASC Guidelines, and to advocate for a human rights based approach and its compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

    OHCHR will continue to incorporate the inclusion and rights of persons with disabilities within its annual training course on human rights in humanitarian action.

    Keywords

    Disability

  • 4A
    Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR commits to keep a focus on the entire population that is affected by a crisis, strive to identify particularly vulnerable individuals and groups and ensure that they are at the centre of the response.


    • Operational
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Core Commitments (6)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to reinforce national and local leadership and capacities in managing disaster and climate-related risks through strengthened preparedness and predictable response and recovery arrangements.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to increase investment in building community resilience as a critical first line of response, with the full and effective participation of women.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to ensure regional and global humanitarian assistance for natural disasters complements national and local efforts.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to increase substantially and diversify global support and share of resources for humanitarian assistance aimed to address the differentiated needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises in fragile situations and complex emergencies, including increasing cash-based programming in situations where relevant.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    • Commit to empower national and local humanitarian action by increasing the share of financing accessible to local and national humanitarian actors and supporting the enhancement of their national delivery systems, capacities and preparedness planning.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Other-4A

    Promoting and protecting the human rights of all affected populations is central in all of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) work. In some of its public reports, OHCHR focuses on vulnerable groups including minorities. 

    In order to enhance OHCHR's capacity and expertise to be an effective partner in humanitarian response, OHCHR organises an annual OHCHR training course on human rights in humanitarian action. The training has among its pre-course requirements the completion of an Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on-line course on ensuring gender equality in humanitarian programming. The face-to-face component involves exercises on advising a Humanitarian Coordinator on applicable Human Rights (HR) law and International Humanitarian Law (IHL); monitoring, reporting and advocacy in emergencies – with a focus on marginalised groups, vulnerabilities and participation, as well as information management in emergencies.

    OHCHR developed and tailored an internal methodological guidance for systematic assessment, analysis and integration of relevant political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights in humanitarian needs assessments.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Data and analysis
    • Field conditions, including insecurity and access
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Unless and until discrimination and inequalities are tackled directly, adolescent girls, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, those living with HIV/AIDS, internally displaced persons, migrants, the refugee, the elderly - all will continue to be denied equal access to the fruits that development provides. 

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • OHCHR will continue to be engaged in the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and IASC processes to ensure that the principle of “leaving no one behind” is fully based on human rights standards.
    • OHCHR’s involvement in emergency settings continues to require the enhancement of staff skills and expertise, which merits stepped-up efforts on lessons learnt and training in this area.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    A human rights-based approach, which takes into account the human rights and specific needs of vulnerable groups and individuals, aims at empowering people to claim their rights and strengthen the capacities and accountability of duty-bearers to meet their legal obligations. Human rights and humanitarian work is mutually reinforcing and complementary.

    Keywords

    Gender, IHL compliance and accountability

  • 4B
    Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • OHCHR will continue to advocate for the integration of human rights considerations in climate policy and disaster risk reduction and resilience, and for the effective implementation of existing commitments in this regard, and will seek support for these efforts.
    • Advocacy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • OHCHR will produce relevant guidance materials related to human rights, climate change and natural disasters including a frequently asked questions publication on human rights and climate change by 2017.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Core Commitments (3)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to accelerate the reduction of disaster and climate-related risks through the coherent implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, as well as other relevant strategies and programs of action, including the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    • Commit to improve the understanding, anticipation and preparedness for disaster and climate-related risks by investing in data, analysis and early warning, and developing evidence-based decision-making processes that result in early action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) joined the Advisory Committee to the Platform on Disaster Displacement and contributed to relevant initiatives of the Platform.

    OHCHR also participated in the Environment Management Group (EMG) nexus dialogue on environment and humanitarian issues, and joined the Issue Management Group on this subject.

    At the Human Rights Council (HRC), OHCHR organized a panel discussion on human rights, climate change, migration and persons displaced across international borders. The summary report of the HRC panel discussion was submitted to the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM) Taskforce on Displacement and to the negotiations of the Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration.

    OHCHR also organized an expert meeting and commissioned a draft study on human rights, migration and the slow-onset adverse effects of climate change.

    OHCHR supported the elaboration of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) General Recommendation on gender dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change.

    OHCHR contributed to several events on climate change and human mobility at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

    OHCHR issued its Key Messages on Human Rights, Climate Change and Migration.

    In the coming year, OHCHR will work to finalize its fact sheet on human rights and climate change as well as studies on human rights, climate change and migration.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    • Inclusion of climate change as a driver of migration in the global compacts and integration of rights-based approach.
    • Uptake of CEDAW General Recommendation 37 by Member States.
    • Integration of human rights in work of various bodies including the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) taskforce, etc.
    • Strengthened cooperation with Member States, civil society and other stakeholders

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Buy-in
    • Funding amounts
    • Human resources/capacity
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Insufficient resources (human and financial) drastically limit the capacity of the Office to address the humanitarian impacts of climate change. Further, insufficient buy-in for human rights policy coherence by relevant stakeholders further limits the adoption of human-rights based approaches in this context.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    OHCHR will continue to engage with the (Platform on Disaster Displacement) PDD, the Issue Management Group on humanitarian issues of the Environment Management Group (EMG), the negotiations of the Global Compacts, the WIM taskforce and other relevant groups and processes to mainstream human rights.

    OHCHR will finalize its fact sheet on human rights and climate change and studies on human rights, climate change and migration. OHCHR will also add capacity to address these issues in its regional offices in Suva and Bangkok.

    Keywords

    Disaster Risk Reduction, Displacement, Migrants

  • 4C
    Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • OHCHR also commits to continue supporting the leadership role of RC/HC to deliver effective responses to humanitarian crises and empower them to address serious violations, link human rights mechanisms and institutions with humanitarian actors and support national protection mechanisms.


    • Capacity
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • OHCHR commits to promote greater integration across all the pillars of the United Nations - human rights, development, humanitarian, peace and security - by supporting joint analysis, advocacy and programming, and working towards collective outcomes for the achievement of the SDGs and national priorities.
    • Operational
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis and planning towards collective outcomes

    In 2017, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continued to ensure that human rights analysis and human rights principles guide its support for Resident Coordinators/Humanitarian Coordinators (RCs/HCs) and  United Nations Country Teams/Humanitarian Country Teams (UNCTs/HCTs) to implement UN human rights policies and to fulfill their human rights responsibilities. 

    The review process of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) guidance, led by OHCHR, was successfully completed with the adoption of the new UNDAF guidance in 2017 by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). Human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment feature as key programming principles, along with the overarching principle “No one left behind”. The new UNDAF guidance, the Programming Principles and Common Country Analysis, include detailed references about the need for integrated analysis, including on human rights, to map gaps and determine priorities. The Common Country Assessment (CCA) requires reference to analysis and recommendations about the country situation by human rights mechanisms.

    Other-4C

    OHCHR continued to integrate human rights into the overall efforts of protection clusters, Humanitarian Coordinators (HCs) and Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs), including in relation to the Syria crisis, Bangladesh, the Caribbean region, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Mauritania, Mexico, Myanmar, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Somalia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, Yemen, and in the Pacific region.

    OHCHR actively engaged in developing the protection strategies of Protection Clusters and HCTs in North Nigeria, Myanmar, Somalia, and Syria. OHCHR also strengthened its Southern Africa and South-East Asia regional offices through the deployment of Emergency Response Teams, dedicated to preparedness and crisis response, to ensure closer, quicker and more adequate support to Resident Coordinators (RCs) and RC/HCs and UNCT/HCTs. OHCHR remains engaged in global level discussions on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    A survey of 23 UNDAFs, conducted under the Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO)/OHCHR  methodology, revealed that all 23 UNDAFs strove to employ a human rights-based approach with specific contributions defined. Most of the UNDAFs drafted after the 2030 Agenda identified needs and situation of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, and appropriately addressed them.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Human resources/capacity
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Setting the tone and ensuring principled action by the humanitarian community to address human rights issues has been often contingent on the leadership and expert capacity within the RC office, and political support from headquarters at all levels. The support to RCs/HCs and country teams requires a continued concerted, system-wide effort. 

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    OHCHR aims to equip all of its Regional Offices with Emergency Response Teams, in line with the Secretary-General’s vision to strengthen system-wide regional prevention capacity. Sustaining resources to maintain existing and new Human Rights Advisors to support RCs/HCs and UNCTs/HCTs must be addressed if the UN is to effectively integrate human rights in its analysis, programming and advocacy, and to strategically position itself to address root causes and drivers of conflict.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • Systematize technical support for human rights to RCs/HCs, including deploying Human Rights Advisors as part of standard package.
    • Systematize political support for principled leadership from headquarters, regional offices and the UN system.
    • Reaffirm human rights and protection mainstreaming gains in policy, doctrine, and frameworks achieved thus far.
    • Integrate 3-Pillar analysis (development, human rights, peace).
    • Advance explicit human rights based approach/sustainable development goals approach.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) commitment of “leaving no one behind” is closely linked to the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. This linkage will be transformative because it compels both development and humanitarian programming to incorporate an overarching consideration of putting the most vulnerable first or leaving no one behind.

    Keywords

    Humanitarian-development nexus, Protection

Attachments

  • WHS Commitments Attachments
    Transformation - 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 3B, 3D, 3G, 4C | Disability, Displacement, Gender, Humanitarian-development nexus, Migrants