"Where Disasters Meet" – Similarities and Distinct factors involved in NS Preparedness to respond to contexts affected by both conflict and natural disasters

Note : The present report doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC.

The workshop was jointly organised by the British Red Cross Society, the Department for International Development (DFID), the British Government and the Uganda Red Cross Society

Outline of Workshop

The workshop reviewed the challenges and opportunities faced by National Societies in contexts affected by both internal conflict and "natural" hazards. Using case studies and examples from the participants the workshop identified priority areas for helping National Societies face the demands of meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in these situations. The priorities identified were: a harmonised preparedness strategy to equip the NS to respond effectively, clarity and openness in addressing the need to maintain both independence and the role of the NS as an auxiliary to the government and the need for flexible response from both donors and the other components of the Red Cross Movement to ensure an effective and harmonised response.

Key points from the presentations and participants

Conflicts and "natural" hazards overlap in many areas – over 145 natural disasters took place in thirty conflict-affected countries over the last five years. The vulnerability created by these compounded disasters requires the NS to respond but the specific context of internal conflict raises issues and challenges for the role of the National Society and its volunteers. It is the responsibility of the Movement as a whole to engage in the addressing of these challenges.

many NS feel that the NS can and should take the lead role in response to these situations, this role should be in part dependent on the specific context and on the capacity of the individual NS

the NS will need support in particular areas of work which become important as a result of the specific context – needs reported include logistical capacity, particularly in terms of vehicles and communication equipment

There are specific challenges faced by NS in responding to vulnerability caused by these situations – these include:

Security for its staff and volunteers in volatile and often dangerous situations. It was noted that the Movement has offered support to the role of NS in conflict situations in the form of operational guidelines, security training, the harmonisation of disaster management and the development of specific tools such as the "Securing Safe Access Framework" by ICRC. It was noted that the ICRC takes seriously its role in assisting preparedness for conflict in NS.

The need to manage and inform public perceptions of the NS particularly in relation to its neutrality and impartiality, the importance of increased dissemination to facilitate access from all sides and to protect the integrity of the emblem was noted.

A need to balance the relationship between an NS auxiliary role to their respective government and their need to adhere to the Fundamental Principles of independence, neutrality and impartiality. Particularly in situations of internal conflict, the relationship with the government needs to be sensitively managed – the support of the government is essential while at the same time the NS will need to establish its independence in certain ways – the issue of armed escorts for NS convoys has been raised in the past, participants noted, however, that this issue could be resolved through open and transparent negotiation. It remains vital, participants agreed, that the Fundamental Principles are visibly adhered to and that the government respect the need to be sensitive to public perceptions in all zones of conflict. Mutually agreed standards of confidentiality and protection are a useful resource in this relationship. A key example of the sensitive concerns is that of casualty figures which might be requested of the NS and then used in ways that it cannot control.

External expectations of the National Society are likely to be high and the capacity to respond is not always commensurate – support from the Movement is vital to ensure that the NS is able to act effectively. The support and trust of donors is key in this process as is their willingness to react creatively and flexibly to a developing crisis. Earmarking of funds and a difficulty in securing funding to build the capacity necessary can affect how an NS is able to respond. The Federation can play a key role in brokering the relationship with donors.

A key factor in enabling an effective response was agreed to be harmonised disaster preparedness that included conflict preparedness. There are strong similarities between preparedness for conflict and for natural disasters: the need for advance work and investment in preparedness, the need for public trust and awareness and for a rapid and well-targeted response. Points that need to be integrated into existing DP work in order to make it more responsive to conflict situations include methods of security analysis, protection for staff and volunteers in the forms of viable guidelines and possibly insurance benefits, and a sharpened analysis of the political context and security implications of assistance.

Preparedness is essential to design an effective Disaster Management Strategy and build the capacity to implement it. Some agreement within the movement on roles and responsibilities in advance can be helpful, it was noted, however, that the rapid changes in a conflict context could affect how these roles develop. Time spent developing relationships and mutual understanding through preparedness work, however, clearly pays off when a conflict situation arises. Operational plans based only on natural disaster response cannot provide a foundation for conflict response.

Additional Elements to be included in preparedness in order to raise the capacity to respond to conflict included security management, volunteer support, donor engagement and branch-level awareness and analytical capacity.

Dissemination in advance of a conflict can provide a strong basis for public awareness of the responsibilities and the role of NS. The Code of Conduct was noted to be an effective tool for explaining how an NS should operate in conflict situations. This preparation should include NS staff and volunteers; government personnel and other key stakeholders as well as the general public.

All components of the Movement should invest in the proposed harmonised preparedness and capacity building approaches since as one participant noted "the strength of the National Society is the strength of the Movement":

It was noted that the role of volunteers was key and that special attention needed to be paid to their psychological well being in stressful and often distressing situations. In these situations, volunteers come from the conflict affected communities themselves and can be therefore already vulnerable. Training for the new challenges they may face in conflict is essential as is the provision of support for those traumatised or badly affected by their experiences.

it was noted that harmonisation of preparedness should not mean that the very real contextual differences in responding to conflicts should not be respected.