securing ‘humanitarian space’ from principles to action Brussels, October 2010

1. Evolution of humanitarian needs  overlapping pressure on people & populations  acute & chronic  migration & environmental degradation  physical & mental effects  duration of armed conflicts  scale & impact of natural disasters  impact of organised armed violence  Latin America  diversity of situation -> diversity of needs  from Haïti to Afghanistan, RDC to Kyrgyzstan, Sahel to Pakistan  “beneficiaries” decide

2. nature of actors is changing  assertive States  resurgence of States & national sovereignty  ongoing transformation of international political landscape  ‘new’ actors and networks  non-states armed groups  fragmentation  gangs  mega-cities  access to new technologies  Asia, Africa, Middle East  29% of world population access to internet, mobile phone  -> impact on practices & behaviours  people affected, our staff, gvts  mobilisation of communities

3. growing importance of the local factor  globalised world  re-balance in favor of local » weakness of global actors » local/national actor favoured  local logic is stronger  ‘economic’ logic  countries where international deployement -> no stability but part of the problem  legitimacy of ‘international’ actors ?  RDC  effectiveness of local responses  ownership, sustainability  local competences  trust, acceptance

The way ahead 1. To demonstrate our principled approach  neutral, independent & impartial approach  ‘prove it’, credibility & predictability  action not intention  ability & legitimacy to operate  acceptance -> access » Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Kyrgystan  manage civil-military relations  independant evaluation of needs  dialogue with all parties/actors  Afghanistan, Somalia, IL/OT  IHL  impartiality

2. To better adapt our response  variety of needs but also resilience of people affected  to understand & to integrate  more ‘contextualised’ response  increased flexibility within defined framework  security management  stronger emphasis on local competences  staff  local partnerships  emergency & early recovery  first responder, sustainability

3. new approach to people management  local competences  talent management  improve performance  competition for people  single approach to managing all ICRC staff  a HR policy for all staff members, be they expat or national staff  one population segmented by competences  managers, professional  expectations growing  win more support to our actions

securing ‘humanitarian space’ from principles to action Brussels, October 2010

: trends & way ahead Trends  affecting our working environement 1. high degree of unpredictibility  different scenarios combined  economic & financial crises  duration, impact ?  more vulnerability  political & social crises  potential of conflicts  intensity & scope of change  difficult to predict  to prepare & plan