INTERSOS has released its latest publication – Protection Monitoring Lessons Learned report
Protection monitoring is central to INTERSOS protection work. This essential activity strives to thoroughly understand the diversity of risks and needs of different groups and individuals in line with age, gender and diversity (AGD), by regularly and systematically collecting, verifying, and analysing information over an extended period of time to identify violations of rights and/or protection risks for populations of concern. Protection monitoring activities cover essential issues, such as legal, material, psychological and physical protection needs, human rights violations, detention, durable solutions, housing land and property rights, population movements/border monitoring, child protection, as well as gender-based violence monitoring.
With this research report, INTERSOS has fulfilled its second pledge made at the first Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in 2019. It was produced through a consultative process with INTERSOS staff and external stakeholders from 11 operational contexts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East – from Afghanistan to Yemen. It provides comprehensive analysis of protection monitoring activities and its methodology, the utility of information collected, outline of good operational practices, the need to have strong data protection protocols, as well as identification of challenges and recommendations to main stakeholders.
It confirms the relevance and importance of this activity, as its outputs generate essential evidence for local, national and international advocacy to protect the human rights of diverse vulnerable individuals and communities and prevent further violations, provide a safe avenue for reporting of violations of their rights, identify protection needs and gaps to inform effective programme design and review of humanitarian responses to fit the context, as well as provide essential referrals for provision of urgent assistance to the most vulnerable individuals and communities.
We hope that the report will be a useful resource tool for humanitarian protection practitioners, and provide advice and guidance that will support all aspects of this work, from all the intricacies related to planning for principled and effective protection monitoring activities towards in-depth implementation, coordination and sharing of information issues.