Enhancing advocacy and coordination capacity of AIDA in oPt. 2016-2017

The situation in the oPt remains a protracted protection crisis with humanitarian and development consequences, driven by lack of respect for international law, lack of accountability and impunity, which fosters further violations. Humanitarian and development needs are exacerbated by the impact of the economic crisis, Israeli and Palestinian violations of human rights, Palestinian internal political divisions division and the financial instability of the Palestinian Authority. Policies linked to the prolonged Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, compounded by recurrent hostilities violence and lack of progress in the peace process, are principal drivers of humanitarian and development needs and vulnerability. The current aid system and structures are challenged with several flaws. Aid management has been complicated by the addition of formal and informal coordination mechanisms which try to mitigate the aid system's deficiencies and address challenges of a shrinking humanitarian and development space. In the absence of a political solution, the international NGOs provide essential assistance that contributes to reduce the effects of the protracted crisis, to enhance resilience of communities, to provide humanitarian assistance and improve delivery of public services. However, these interventions have to be complemented with advocacy and policy work to improve accountability of all duty bearers and to avoid creating parallel and unsustainable structures.

AIDA is a proactive and accountable network of INGOs, which works in a coordinated and coherent way to respond to emergencies or humanitarian crises and towards sustainable and equitable development, human rights, social inclusion, poverty reduction and good governance in the oPt.

AIDA works to achieve this by addressing issues that affect member's ability to deliver effective and accountable humanitarian assistance and development programming.

• The civilian population at large facing humanitarian needs and lacking protection in time of crisis.
• Local and International organizations & decision-makers influencing humanitarian response and development needs in the oPt.
• HCT members & agencies (UN agencies, national and international NGOs)
• Development aid structures (LACS)

1. AIDA advances the humanitarian and development priorities of the NGO community in support of the respect of People.
2. AIDA Members are increasingly engaged, supported, and work strategically as a collective, and have access to learning and sharing opportunities.

Principaux résultats attendus:  

1. Position papers with proposed strategies to influence external actors in support of the full realization of the rights of the Palestinian people (Operational space/movement and access, East Jerusalem, Area C) are produced and delivered.
2. Analysis and policy positioning on key operational questions affecting the ability of AIDA members to deliver programming (movement and access and operational space issues, host government issues) developed.
3. Engagement strategy with humanitarian architecture agreed, adopted, and rolled out.
4. The Secretariat provides sufficient fora for delivering information, sharing positions, increasing understanding of key issues related to political context, identifying challenges in the operating environment, identifying responses or resolutions.
5. AIDA sub-committees (Gaza, advocacy, Gender WG, admin, others), effectively feed into work of broader AIDA membership.
6. Key learning and sharing opportunities are coordinated by the Secretariat including: Area C engagement, protection of development action, IHUProtection of Civilians (POC).

Principaux résultats antérieurs:  

1. The development and Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) endorsement by donors and INGOs of the Area C Framework, driven by engaged AIDA members and support of AIDA advocacy strategy.
2. Effectively lobbied diplomatic missions both in-country and in Brussels which led to a more robust EU Member States and EU Commission response towards Israel on the illegal confiscation and demolition of aid.
3. AIDA produced a large coalition report signed by 48 INGOs entitled "Charting the Right Course policy" on Gaza, in addition to a number of private letters to relevant stakeholders to achieve policy recommendations set forth in the report.
4. Successes in Gaza policy work is evidenced in the organization of first ever Security Council Arria meeting with an INGO presence in June 2015 (member of Executive committee of AIDA).
5. AIDA produced a number of key documents (diplomatic letters and briefs) to inform and influence position of both its members and key diplomatic representatives, primarily on the protection of humanitarian principles.
6. On a process level, AIDA succeeded to engage its membersinto the HCT and the HCT Advocacy Working Group (AWG) ensuring peer-selected strategic engagement in the Area C Steering Committee, the Gaza Reconstruction mechanism and East Jerusalem Task Force (EJTF)

Many of SDC partners are members of the different humanitarian clusters and development structures, including national organizations; they can potentially benefit from coordination of responses and advocacy with key actors and among donors.

AIDA is also represented on the Advisory Board of the Humanitarian Pooled Fund (HPF) managed by OCHA, as well as at the Protection cluster chaired by OHCHR

Phase 3 01.01.2016 - 31.12.2018   (Completed)