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

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Handicap International will continue its collaboration with members of INEW, participating in INEW meetings and governance, taking part in coordination of the network activities, providing specific expertise as a field operator on clearance, risk education and victim assistance, and implementing joint activities.


  • Partnership
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Handicap International will advocate at the national, regional, and international levels on this issue, raising awareness of the harm caused from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and need for a political declaration to prevent such harm and in particular to end the use of explosive weapons with wide area effect in populated areas, through outreach to government representatives, parliamentarians and media. International outreach will take place annually in a variety of forums, in coordination with other INEW members. National outreach will be carried out through the eight national associations of Handicap International in Europe and Northern America, and through its programs present in around 60 countries.


  • Advocacy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Handicap International will continue to collect data and document the humanitarian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and will publish a range of reports and papers on this theme in the coming years, with a particular focus in 2016 on the situation in Syria, and on the correlation between the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and displacement of populations.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Handicap International will continue to lead a process towards the development of recommendations on victim assistance provision in a future political declaration on that topic, and guidelines on how to implement assistance to victims of explosive weapons. In that process, it will ensure participation of survivors of explosive weapons and other persons impacted by the use of explosive weapons.


  • Partnership
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Handicap International will continue to respond to the humanitarian needs of communities affected by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, through responding to their basic needs such as food, shelter, child protection, water, sanitation and health, psychological interventions/assistance, education to the risks posed by explosive remnants of war, clearance and victim assistance.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Handicap International will raise awareness towards and educate the wider public on the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas by developing public campaigns and media outreach on explosive weapons at the national and international level, with a special focus on its national associations.


  • Advocacy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Handicap International will support the participation of survivors and other persons impacted by the use of explosive weapons in all events or meetings related to this topic at the national, regional or international level. It will gather testimonies of survivors and other persons impacted in past crises.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    The use of explosive weapons in populated areas has caused high levels of civilian deaths, injuries, psychological distress, destruction of infrastructure, water and sanitation systems, and has been a key driver of displacement. As humanitarian actors and mine action operator working in post conflict and conflict areas, Handicap International (HI) provides protection and assistance to victims of explosive weapons. HI is engaged as a member of the steering committee of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) which is calling for immediate action to prevent human suffering from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

  • Achievements at a glance

    - HI teams provided response to victim of explosive weapons in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, Gaza, Iraq and in Syria and neighboring countries. HI teams supported long term recovery in post conflict areas in Africa, Asia, Middle East and South America.
    - HI launched a report documenting the correlation between the use of explosive weapons and displacement of population in Syria. It stressed that one of the reasons for refugees interviewed leaving their home was the use of explosive weapons. It attracted strong media and public interest. Findings were mentioned by officials during expert meeting on explosive weapons.
    - HI led a participatory process with civil society including survivors to develop recommendations on victim assistance for a future political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas.
    - HI developed guidelines on an integrated approach to victim assistance, and is building the capacity of donors, affected states and the UN.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    - HI mobilized media and the general public on the impact of the use of explosive weapons: 317,000 persons signed the petition against the use of explosive weapons in populated area.
    - HI monitored States positions on the issue and in particular their support on Victim Assistance (VA). Most of HI recommendations on VA has been supported by States working on the future political declaration.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    States needs to better understand the humanitarian and legal aspects related to the impact of explosive weapons with wide area effects on populated areas. Lack of understanding and ownership of the political declaration on the use of explosive weapons by States and lack of compliance with international humanitarian law rules are challenges, as is the lack of shared military practices on this issue. There are also challenges posed to humanitarian access and response.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    In order to reach out to more countries and increase the number of States involved in the political declaration process, HI will hold a briefing for African countries (involving the African Union) in second part of 2017. HI will continue to document the impact of explosive weapons, through a second report examining more deeply the evidence of the correlation between displacement and use of explosive weapons. HI will continue to provide assistance to those impacted by explosive weapons.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities', what would it be

    HI is calling states and other actors to publicly speak out, commit to develop a strong political declaration to end the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and support civilians exposed to the gravest risks.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Humanitarian principles ☑ IDPs ☑ People-centred approach ☑ Refugees

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑2C - Speak out on violations ☑ 2E - Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity ☑ 3A - Reduce and address displacement

3G
Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Handicap International will increase participation of persons with disabilities in decision making and planning processes of humanitarian programmes, including in relevant assessment and coordination mechanisms.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International endorses the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action and immediately commits towards its implementation.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will support the development and implementation of global guidelines on disability inclusion in humanitarian action to be initiated in 2016.  It is ready to take a leading role in the development of such guidelines in some of the following sectors: water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, food, health and protection.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will improve the development and tools to continue to ethically collect quantitative and qualitative data on persons with disabilities, disaggregated by age and sex, in the view of increasing comparison and reliability of humanitarian programs.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will strengthen the use of and support the development of improved and innovative methods and means of communication to ensure that persons with disabilities are reached during emergencies.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will implement the principle of universal design in programming and in post-emergency reconstructions in order to strive to remove physical, communication and attitudinal barriers and discrimination.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will reinforce pre-positioning of material, including assistive devices, to timely deploy and make resources available to individuals and their families who are in need of specific assistance during humanitarian emergencies.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will expand the implementation of advocacy and awareness raising programmes and trainings to enhance the understanding of the needs of persons with disabilities to all humanitarian actors willing to strengthen their response towards persons with disabilities.


  • Advocacy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Handicap International will foster partnership with local and national organizations, including organisations representatives of persons with disabilities, in humanitarian emergencies, building their capacities and benefiting from their expertise on inclusion.


  • Partnership
  • Leave No One Behind

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Handicap International (HI) has been responding to humanitarian emergencies in both conflict and disasters contexts for 35 years, supporting vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, in term of participation, capacity building and technical support to humanitarian actors, and direct intervention provision of basic and specific services, as well as advocacy. Yet, field experience indicates that persons with disabilities remain often neglected in the contingency planning, assessment, design, and delivery of humanitarian relief, requiring stronger international commitment.

  • Achievements at a glance

    - HI is actively working to promote the Charter and reinforce the common dynamic around it. HI is co-chairing the IASC Task Team developing guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities and supports other initiatives to develope Minimum Standards on Age and Disability in collaboration.
    - HI is working to improve the reliability and usability of disability disaggregated data using the Washington Group of questions and testing the questions in emergency contexts.
    - Hi is involved in DRR to strengthen innovative and traditional early warning system to make sure people with disability will be reached, but also mobile data collection before, during and after disasters to know exactly which populations are at higher risks than others.
    - HI also engages local organizations in participatory process in all operations, and ensures mechanisms to empower affected populations. HI has programs on inclusion of persons with disabilities in crises and countries hosting refugees.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    There is increased awareness on the imperative to address the need of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, observed through the increasing number of Charter endorsers and number of members of the IASC Task Team on inclusion of persons with disabilities. Actions in our field intervention such as stock pre-positioning, building capacities to disseminate an inclusive alert system, building inclusive contingency plans, prevention and mitigation structural and nonstructural measures, awareness raising on how to deal with disasters to at risk groups and people are some concrete examples of actions through which progress is being assessed.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    - Mobilize and ensure mainstream humanitarian actors support persons with disabilities in their response, including UN actors. Securing endorser appropriation of the Charter and make the Charter a key reference of humanitarian actors’ policies and practices.
    - Ensure collaboration around future activities maintaining the ongoing multi-stakeholders dynamic to mainstream the topic at each level of humanitarian action.
    - Supporting states to implement the Sendai Framework, ensure that all DRR practices and policies are inclusive and that at risk groups including people with disability are participating in DRR efforts.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    - Take the opportunity of the first anniversary of the Charter to renew to ongoing momentum and make the community of endorsers come alive. HI is launching opportunities to promote and communicate around the Charter and its principles at the international level. Also, a participatory process for the guidelines development will be designed to foster engagement of relevant stakeholders. HI is conducting a review of practices in terms of participation of persons with disabilities and a publication will be available in 2017. HI will also produce a report and a guideline on how to use the Washington Group questions in emergency settings by 2018.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings', what would it be

    The Charter is the key political document which places people with disabilities at the heart of humanitarian decision-making and response process. Supporting its implementation should be a key priority for all humanitarian actors.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disability ☑ Disaster Risk Reduction ☑ Refugees

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑4A - Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems ☑ 4B - Anticipate, do not wait, for crises