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Self Report 2017

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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1B
Act early

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • International Alert will continue in-country programming to reduce the prospect of conflict among displaced populations in the MENA region and engagement on the 2017 Syria conference in Brussels.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to act early upon potential conflict situations based on early warning findings and shared conflict analysis, in accordance with international law.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    International Alert believes there needs to be an increased commitment to long term approaches that address the underlying reasons why people turn to violence, in essence, peacebuilding and conflict prevention. While there has been much talk at the international level about conflict prevention this has not been translating into action. We are seeing a move away from long term approaches to crisis response which is not a sustainable approach to addressing and resolving crises. We encourage action based on share analysis and understanding of the critical drivers of conflict, noting that this needs to engage political elites and communities.

  • Achievements at a glance

    We are continuing advocacy and policy dialogue with governments and multilateral institutions such as the European Union to encourage a greater commitment to long term conflict prevention. Our country level analysis is made publicly available so that all can draw on it as a means to inform programming and political engagement. In 2017 we will engage with the US sustaining peace agenda including the special session to highlight the importance of conflict prevention and the role that civil society can play in promoting it.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    We assess progress against annual plans and programmatic indicators. We do not use a framework to specifically assess our WHS commitments as we do not have the time and resources to do this.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    The special session on peace at the 2017 UN General Assembly will be an indicator of UN member states willingness to seriously realize the conflict prevention agenda. Tangible actionable outcomes will be key. Another key indicator will be whether the trend away from long term approaches begins to turn around.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Engagement on the World Bank - UN report on conflict prevention.
    Should the opportunity arise, also the UN Secretary-General's report on sustaining peace.
    Engagement around the 2017 Special Session.
    Continued policy dialogue with key governments, including the Netherlands and Sweden with respect to their roles on the UN Security Council on conflict prevention.
    Ongoing policy engagement with the EU.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Act early', what would it be

    We have an important opportunity this year around the sustaining peace agenda to make some hard commitments to conflict prevention, both in how we go about it but also how we resource it.

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑The Peace Promise

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1C - Remain engaged and invest in stability ☑ 5C - Invest in stability

1C
Remain engaged and invest in stability

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • International Alert will engage on the sustaining peace agenda and the 2017 Syria conference in Brussels related to commitments under the Peace Promise.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to improve prevention and peaceful resolution capacities at the national, regional and international level improving the ability to work on multiple crises simultaneously.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
  • Commit to address root causes of conflict and work to reduce fragility by investing in the development of inclusive, peaceful societies.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    International Alert believes in the importance and capacity of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors to work more cohesively together to best serve the interests of the people we seek to help in the short, but also in the long term. We believe there are very practical ways in which collaboration can be achieved while preserving the core responsibility and capabilities of the respective strands of work.

  • Achievements at a glance

    International Alert is engaging in the 2017 Syria conference in Brussels encouraging the practical application of commitments under the Peace Promise. International Alert, across the 30 countries it works in continues its efforts to address structural and local drivers of conflict to reduce the risk of lapse or relapse into conflict. We are engaged with development actors and in some cases humanitarian actors across a range of settings to progress this agenda.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    The International Alert's Results Framework articulates the organisation's core contributions to peace and conflict prevention.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    Shrinking government commitments to long-term approaches in favor or securitized approaches to conflict or crisis response.

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑The Peace Promise

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

Core Commitment

  • 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    See earlier statements

  • Achievements at a glance

    International Alert continues its in-country programming to reduce the prospect of conflict among displaced populations in the MENA region and engagement on the 2017 Syria conference in Brussels.

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑The Peace Promise

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3A - Reduce and address displacement

4C
Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

Core Commitment

  • 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Please refer to information provided for these entries in our first two reports. It is the driving rationale of our engagement and commitments as a whole and will not be further repeated.

  • Achievements at a glance

    We continue to work collaboratively with development and in some cases humanitarian actors across our 30 country programs. In Lebanon for example, we have engaged with relevant clusters to encourage the principles of the Peace Promise through discussion around social cohesion.