It is with great pleasure that CIVIC, Creating Safer Space, Global Protection Cluster (GPC)/UNHCR, HPG/ODI, Oxfam, Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), NORCAP, and PAX along with the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the UN and the Permanent Missions of El Salvador, the Netherlands, Philippines, and South Sudan, invite you to attend a POC Week side event on Thursday, 23 May 2024 at 1.00pm – 2.30pm EDT. The event will be held in-person at the Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York and online via Zoom.
The international community is at a critical juncture with peacekeeping and protection of civilians efforts being pressed to evolve and innovate to meet new challenges, risks and threats, escalating civilian needs, major gaps between intent and impact of missions, community and host-state resistance, and precarious mission drawdowns. Civilian-centered approaches to protection can bridge these gaps and address these challenges. Community-led protection, a civilian-centered approach to POC based on principles of unarmed action, non-violence, and the primacy of local actors, has been successfully employed to protect civilians in numerous conflict-affected regions. Substantial research has demonstrated that community-centered approaches are effective, cost-efficient, and sustainable when they are based on conflict-sensitive approaches, an in-depth understanding of communities, and built upon existing community efforts. This session will examine what has worked and why, what lessons have been learned, and what is needed at both field and policy levels to more fully raise awareness and integrate, coordinate, and internalize unarmed, civilian-led approaches into institutional protection efforts.
This invitation is intended for the humanitarian, peacebuilding, peacekeeping and/or POC experts within your organisation. The invitation is transferable, and should you feel that you are not best suited to attend, kindly forward to the appropriate individual in your mission or office. In-person space is limited and registration is required. A light lunch will be served at 12.45pm. Please RSVP by 17 May 2024 at this link.
For further information, kindly review this concept note or please contact:
Ms. Gay Rosenblum-Kumar, UN Representative of NP at g.rosenblumkumar@nonviolentpeaceforce.org.
We hope you can join us for this informal dialogue examining how civilian-centered approaches to protection can address the gaps and challenges faced by UN peacekeeping missions, other peace support operations, humanitarian organisations and conflict-affected communities.
