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Self Report 2019

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
    • ODI commits to dedicating resources to explore how stronger international standards can mitigate harm from the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas.
    • Policy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has continued to explore violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen as a result of the conflict, as part of a project that assesses the impact of bank de-risking strategies on humanitarian work. Additional case studies on Somalia, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territories were published in 2018. the Humanitarian Policy Group has also conducted research into displaced populations at risk from explosive weapons in the Kachin borderlands, Myanmar.

    2. 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
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    The lack of political will among many States to seek a political solution to such conflicts, advocate for the rights of civilians at risk and adhere to their own obligations on the sale and use of explosive weapons to belligerent parties presents challenges to strengthening protection mechanisms.

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

    The international community must renew pressure on belligerent parties engaged in violations, including the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law. States responsible for the sale of weapons to those parties in conflict must also be held accountable under international humanitarian law.

    Keywords

    IHL compliance and accountability

  • 3A
    Reduce and address displacement

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ODI commits to generating evidence over the following year on how to better support refugees in protracted displacement in key contexts, to support donors and governments of affected countries to prioritize solutions that strengthen the self-reliance and resilience of refugees as well as host communities.









    • Policy
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    Refugees

    The Overseas Development Institute's Human Mobility Initiative (ODI-HMI) has provided a new platform to investigate knowledge gaps and identify policy options to deal with the reality of global migration. In 2018, the HMI hosted side events at the Global Compact for Migration conference in Marrakesh and Wilton Park, and workshops in Rabat on migration for development. In addition, the HMI has supported the development of IOM’s new migration strategy and participated and reacted to the GCM policymaking process.

    In February 2018, ODI released a study of the Jordan Compact, exploring lessons learnt and implications for future refugee compacts. ODI has also conducted a study into how the role of older people changes during displacement, and examines how well they are included in responses.

    2. 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
    • Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
    • Multi-stakeholder coordination
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Though the [Jordan] Compact has led to considerable improvements in education and labour market access for Syrian refugees, the lack of refugee perspectives, high financial barriers and a lack of incorporation of critical sectors have meant the Compact has been slow to improve the daily lives of many refugees.

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

    There is an overarching need to shift the narrative of global migration away from crisis or emergency to a message that is more pragmatic and sober: that migration is a permanent reality that requires policy reforms and engagement with civil society organisations, municipal-level authorities, business leaders and leading governments on migration such as Canada, Germany, the Philippines and Uganda.

    Keywords

    Displacement, Migrants

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

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • ODI commits to continuing to serve as a secretariat for the Regional Organisations Humanitarian Action Network (ROHAN) as a vehicle for sharing information and analysis amongst regional organizations and strengthening the expansion of the network, supporting it to become independent.


    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Recognising the potentially transformative power of unconditional humanitarian cash transfers, ODI commits to supporting scaling up cash through evidence-based policy advisory and influencing efforts, including convening discussion and research with diverse stakeholders and organising a cash conference in 2017.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    Strengthening national/local leadership and systems

    Despite minimal resources, informal networking has continued among Regional Organisations Humanitarian Action Network (ROHAN) members and with the Overseas Development Institute focal point. For example, this has laid the foundation for an African Union visit to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) in 2019.

    Cash-based programming

    On cash, the Humanitarian Policy Group has conducted a study into the ‘user journeys’ of individual recipients of humanitarian cash transfers, focusing on Iraq and Kenya as case studies, in order to improve evidence of how transfer systems satisfy people’s needs and expectations. ODI’s Growth, Poverty and Inequality Programme has also explored how cash transfers can become more inclusive in the contexts of Brazil, Pakistan and the Philippines.

    B. Please select if your report relates to any initiatives launched at World Humanitarian summit
    • Grand Bargain
    • Regional Organisations Humanitarian Action Network (ROHAN)
    2. 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.
    • Funding amounts
    • Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
    • Gender and/or vulnerable group inclusion
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    ROHAN has not managed to generate external resources to sustain its activities, which has meant a down-scaling of ambition and a relatively low-level of activity. Member engagement has been challenging due to limited resources and competing priorities in responding to crises.

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

    Further funding to support the capacity of ROHAN to function would be needed to complement a deeper engagement by overstretched regional organisation centres and secretariats.

    The potential safety risks of the particular distribution mechanisms of cash and also the opportunities for boosting financial inclusion, as well as the experiences and preferences of cash recipients, need to be better understood in order to continue to scale-up cash programming in an effective and inclusive manner.

    Keywords

    Cash, Local action, Strengthening local systems

  • 4B
    Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ODI commits to producing analysis which helps donors and governments understand how to prioritize solutions that make progress on the concepts of risk and resilience which feature heavily in the World Humanitarian Summit and linked agreements including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Sustainable Development Goals, and Paris Agreement. This will have a specific focus on building resilience to climate extremes and disasters.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    • ODI commits to undertaking research to improve understanding of the linked challenges of climate change, natural hazard-related disasters, conflict and fragility and the implications for international aid.


    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    Disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management (including resilience)

    The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has conducted research into climate finance, water policies and the Paris Agreement; and unlocking climate-resilient economic development in dry lands – all key topics in the resilience agenda.

    In June 2018, ODI released a report exploring the link between disasters and conflict in Asia with a view to support the accelerated implementation of Target E of the Sendai Framework (‘to deliver a substantial increase in the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020’), with a specific focus on the Asia and Africa-Arab Platforms on disaster risk reduction at a ministerial level.

    ODI, in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross, convened a series of roundtables in 2018, including in Nairobi, on the subject of ‘people’s experience of conflict, climate and resilience’ that also explored how humanitarian organisations and their partners can best support mitigating the effects of intersecting climate and conflict risk.

    2. 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.
    • Funding amounts
    • Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Key mechanisms for delivering resilient outcomes, such as the Green Climate Fund remain smaller in scale than is needed. 

    There remains no forum for disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate and peace actors, preventing knowledge sharing and addressing common challenges.

     

     

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

    Following the 8th Asian ministerial conference on DRR, ODI also raised the concern that issues of security, violence and conflict do not still commonly appear in DRR processes and policies and require more explicit acknowledgement in international frameworks such as the Sendai Framework. The topic should be included on the agenda of the Global Platform for DRR in 2019. Greater recognition of DRR is also required in the United Nations’ sustaining peace agenda.

    Keywords

    Climate Change, Community resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction

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

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • ODI commits to developing strategic collaborations with think tanks and academic institutions in crisis-affected regions and in emerging donor countries in order to share expertise, including initiating joint research, staff exchange and joint events throughout its research cycle.  


    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

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

    The Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Policy Group is concluding its 2017 – 2019 Integrated Programme: ‘From the Ground Up: Understanding Local Response in Crises’. All of the research projects for the case studies are conducted jointly with research institutions based on the case study countries, with researchers contributing to the planning as well as conducting interviews, focus groups and research dissemination with affected people. Case study countries include Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Lebanon.

    2. 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
    • Funding amounts
    Keywords

    Humanitarian-development nexus

Attachments

  • Jordan Compact - lessons learnt for refugee compacts
    Transformation - 3A | Displacement
  • DRR and violent conflict in Araba and African States
    Transformation - 4B | Disaster Risk Reduction, Local action