Global Refugee Forum Follow-up:
Throughout 2020, ICVA has been involved in facilitating the follow-up to the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), which took place in December 2019. ICVA developed with our members, a preliminary overview of the deliberations and results emanating from the GRF, as well as an initial mapping of the GRF/GCR ‘implementation landscape’.
As part of its activities related to the GRF, ICVA contributed to a full-day workshop in March on the Global Action Plan for the Implementation of the Three-Year Strategy (2019-2021) on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways. The workshop was an important opportunity to exchange and work collectively to pin down the planned or ongoing activities that contribute to the objectives of the Strategy. The UNHCR created a digital platform’s Dashboard, which has gathered and tracks all pledges made throughout the GRF, the GRF Outcomes Document, as well as other relevant information related to the Forum.
ICVA participated in all of the informal meetings that took place throughout the year and coordinated NGO statements delivered at the informal meetings, making sure to reiterate its continued engagement to support NGOs in the follow-up and implementation phase of the GRF. Keeping to our GRF pledge, ICVA continues to work to support NGOs’ engagement in the Global Compact on Refugees implementation, particularly through information dissemination on relevant meetings and mechanisms arranged at the global level such as the three Support Platforms.
Global Compact on Refugees:
ICVA continued its involvement to support NGO engagement with the implementation of the various elements of the Compact, contributing to exchanges with UNHCR and other actors. As a follow-up to GRF and the Global Compact on Refugees implementation, in July ICVA’s Executive Director delivered a collective statement during the High-Level meeting on the Support Platform for the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees, based on numerous NGO inputs. The statement highlighted the NGOs’ key role in supporting Afghan refugees in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, as well as concrete suggestions for the future work of the Platform.
Internally Displaced Persons & Guiding Principles (GP20):
This year, ICVA continued to respond to and support durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs). With numbers of IDPs increasing worldwide, ICVA remains committed to support measures to improve protection, assistance, and durable solutions. For ICVA and NGOs to deliver on this important mandate, ICVA is engaged in various coordination platforms, initiatives and learning programmes. In these initiatives, ICVA works jointly with our members, NGOs, UN agencies and other key stakeholders.
ICVA engaged with the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and with developments related to the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. Those engagements included a meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, to exchange on her official visit to Iraq, particularly focused on ten points raised in her End of Mission Statement and on how NGOs can engage to strengthen the response. It was also an opportunity to exchange on the report on Protection of IDPs with disabilities.
This year, ICVA organised exchanges with NGOs and the Secretariat of the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. For instance, a meeting was organised with NGOs, Member States, the Panel Secretariat and other stakeholders with the objective of gathering a variety of insights on “Internally Displaced Persons, the Sustainable Development Goals and Perspectives for Durable Introduction Solutions”. The meeting benefited from inputs from a variety of stakeholders, including representatives from Member States, NGOs, UN system, the Platform on Disaster Displacement, GP20 and the Joint IDP Profiling Service.
ICVA also continued to collaborate with the High-Level Panel Secretariat and NGOs to feed into the Panel’s work notably in its efforts to organise consultations with internally displaced persons and host communities in key countries.
Protection of vulnerable migrants:
In 2020 ICVA continued to co-convene the Civil Society Action Committee on Migration (AC). Serving as a membership-based global platform for collective civil society coordination and engagement, the AC works towards three primary objectives:
Advocacy work of the AC in 2020 consisted in among others the protection of the rights of migrants in COVID 19 context, with the AC drafting a strong advocacy statement on the matter from the early days of the pandemic. The AC also monitored the situation at the Turkey-Greece Border and produced a statement on the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Moria Camp.
Regarding the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration, the AC published a paper on how the GCM contributes to a better migration governance in times of global pandemics. Starting with an analysis of the GCM origins and elaborating on the reflections and lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper focuses on GCM Objective 5 on regular pathways and Objective 23 on international cooperation, to respond to post-pandemic recovery and re-launching mobility questions.
The AC continued to contribute to the GCM regional review processes and since September 2020, it is organising together with Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), and the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) a series of 23 weekly review discussions focusing on progress at the global level of each of the 23 objectives of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). For more information on the webinar series, please see here.
Global Forum on Migration and Development
The 12th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) took place in Quito, Ecuador in January 2020. For the first time ever, all GFMD meetings took place in the same venue. All the GFMD mechanisms: the governments, Civil Society Days (CSD), the Business Mechanism, and the new Mayors Mechanism had more opportunities for exchange and interaction with other stakeholders throughout the summit. ICVA participated in the 2020 GFMD in Quito and is preparing for the 13th GMFD to be held in 2021. ICVA connects to this Forum to advocate on sustainable approaches to human mobility through partnerships and collective action. ICVA is actively engaged in the GFMD Civil Society Coordinating Office established under the auspices of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC).
International Migration Law learning program
Throughout the year ICVA, Civil Society Action Committee and the International Migrant Bill of Rights Initiative created an International Migration Law (IML) learning programme for NGOs. The programme focused on giving an overview of international migration law to supports NGOs in upholding the rights of migrants and collaborating with human rights mechanisms at the global and regional level. ICVA, Civil Society Action Committee and International Migrants Bill of Rights Initiative also organised a webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on the rights of migrants. The webinar focused on the challenges migrants face, and some good practices undertaken by national and local governments to ensure that on their territory all have equal access to health care and protection against COVID-19.
COVID-19 Response:
Through 2020 ICVA managed COVID-19 as a cross-cutting issue throughout the existing focus areas, including Forced Migration. ICVA focused on maintaining the momentum on policy process and their implementation in protecting, assisting and advocating for refugees, internally displaced people, migrants and host communities particularly vulnerable to the pandemic. ICVA created a resource page that has a collection of guidelines, tools, statements, papers and useful links which are relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Forced Migration
ICVA’s work on forced migration aims to improve protection, assistance and durable solutions for refugees, IDPs, stateless persons and vulnerable migrants. While 2020 brought a number of new challenges, particularly with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICVA remained firm in our collaboration, support and coordination with our NGO members. This relationship allows ICVA to bring the voices of NGOs to influence humanitarian policies and practices and leverage equal and inclusive partnerships.
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Forced Migration Meeting, February 2020
Global Refugee Forum, December 2019
Engaging in the IASC mechanisms
ICVA contributes to the global humanitarian coordination discussions through our participation in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). ICVA connects our members and NGO fora partners with the various IASC processes, encouraging members to feed into the discussions that are ongoing at the global level. Allowing members to provide a feedback loop with the reality of what is actually happening in the various operational settings to the broad policy level thinking at the global level. ICVA members have increased access to IASC information and policy developments through the ICVA working groups, and throughout the year have provided feedback on a range of IASC interim guidance notes related to COVID-19 endorsed by the IASC Operational Policy and Advocacy Group (OPAG), including on localization, public health measures, PSEA, mental health, and camp settings. ICVA’s Chair and Executive Director attend the IASC Principals meetings, where key interventions and contributions have been made around the need for increased and timely funding to NGOs; the critical role of local and national actors in the COVID-19 response; the collective responsibility of the IASC members to further concretise the humanitarian- development nexus and the duty of care of all humanitarian actors.
ICVA participated in the IASC Emergency Directors Group (EDG), informing EDG discussions on a range of different country specific contexts and cross-cutting issues. ICVA members, Danish Refugee Council and Action Contre la Faim, held representative seats on the EDG throughout the year. ICVA took part in an interagency Operational Peer Review (OPR) of Ebola operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2020 and a virtual Peer 2 Peer Support Mission to Libya in December 2020. Through the EDG, ICVA and our members contributed to the EDG Annual review of Operations and Humanitarian Coordinator Appraisals. In February 2020, ICVA and InterAction coordinated NGO contributions to the review of 19 humanitarian operations the performance appraisals of 26 humanitarian coordinators.
ICVA spearheaded the OPAG duty of care discussions through its call for action on protecting humanitarian workers against COVID-19. This resulted among others in the endorsement of the IASC Duty of Care Minimum Standards, which guides IASC members in the implementation of adequate duty of care provisions in the context of COVID-19 for all personnel regardless of nationality and contractual type.
Working in collaboration with other NGOs, ICVA follows the work of the five IASC Results Groups on Operational Response, Accountability and Inclusion, Collective Advocacy, Humanitarian-Development Collaboration, and Humanitarian Financing. ICVA co-chairs the Humanitarian Financing Results Group and the sub-groups of Operational Response on Localization (through ICVA member Somalia NGO Consortium) and Bureaucratic and Administrative Impediments (with Interaction). Associated with the IASC, ICVA engaged in the Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation Steering Group (member representative Danish Refugee Council), Saving Lives Together Initiative (member representative ACT Alliance), and Early Warning Early Action Analysts Group (member representative Mercy Corps), as well as the Emergency Response Preparedness Working Group, Humanitarian Programme Cycle Steering Group, Humanitarian Leadership and Support Steering Group.
Influence on functioning of humanitarian system/architecture
As with any operation, reviews and feedback mechanisms are needed to adjust or improve the collective humanitarian response. ICVA is involved in some of the different mechanisms within the interagency structure for this to strengthen representation and participation of local and national actors in Coordination Structures.
In April ICVA published a report on the challenges inhibiting meaningful participation by national NGOs and NGO fora within Humanitarian Country Teams. This research conducted in partnership with students from the London School of Economics examined engagement by national NGOs and NGO fora and outlined some recommendations for improvement. The report informed work under the IASC OPAG Results Group 1 addressing this issue. In late 2020, ICVA commissioned the initial drafting of IASC Guidance on this topic, which will be finalised in 2021.
Strengthening in-country NGO Coordination fora
Independent NGO coordination fora play a valuable role in ensuring humanitarian coordination remains accountable and effective. In 2020, ICVA Regional Representatives provided ongoing support to national and international NGO Fora.
To respond to the additional challenges of COVID-19, ICVA stepped up the support provided under this programme. 12 NGO Fora across Africa, Asia, Latin America and MENA regions received grants of approximatly 15’000 CHF to enhance the support and coordination services they provided to their members at country level. ICVA also established a virtual support desk for the NGO Fora to help them navigate through the new challenges brought by the pandemic. Within the six months of the project we saw increased visibility, participation and integration of local NGOs in national coordination mechanisms. Advocacy capacity of the NGO fora strengthened and with that their capacity to provide timely and useful analysis both to their members, and in national coordination discussions.
Overall ICVA’s work with NGO fora during the year reinforced the localization approach as a key approach to address humanitarian needs/challenges in-country; and through this process used the lessons learned to drive and strengthen humanitarian responses nationally and at global engagements.
Humanitarian Coordination
Coordination supports the diverse range of humanitarian actors
to plan, resource and deliver principled and effective humanitarian assistance. Through our global network of operational NGOs,
our support to in-country NGO Fora, our close relationship with
UN agencies and donors, and our representative role on the IASC,
we have a unique position to influence coordination mechanisms.
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Operational Peer Review of Ebola response, DRC January 2020
Implementation of the “8+3” Template for narrative reporting, February 2020
Grand Bargain
ICVA is a signatory to the Grand Bargain and serves as co-convenor with Germany of Workstream 9 focused on harmonisation and simplification of reporting – including implementation of the “8+3” template for narrative reporting. Following the Grand Bargain annual meeting in June 2020, ICVA, with Voice, InterAction and SCHR, published an NGO statement calling for further increases in flexibility of funding and more focus on risk sharing and management practices. The dual Grand Bargain themes of localization and quality funding were prioritised by ICVA in 2020 and embedded in work that cut across the organisation. On localization, ICVA advocated strongly for language supportive of local and national partners in the GHRP response to be matched with appropriate funding and capacity support to these partners. The IASC flexibility measures developed by RG5 under the leadership of ICVA and OCHA also served to provide a framework for practical implementation of quality, flexible funding at the country level. These measures linked across several Grand Bargain workstream commitments, including reduced duplication and management costs (workstream 4), quality funding (workstreams 7, 8) and harmonised reporting (workstream 9).
Now that the Grand Bargain enters its fifth year, NGOs would like to see the Grand Bargain multi-stakeholder framework adjust to maintain relevance. ICVA, along with the other NGO signatories, is committed to be propositional and work closely with stakeholders to build a strong joint vision for future implementation of Grand Bargain commitments.
OCHA Pooled based funds
Through its leadership role in IASC RG5, ICVA participates in the OCHA Pooled Fund Working Group (PFWG), which provides inputs on the use and distribution of country based pooled funds (CBPFs). Within the UN system, CBPFs channel a large amount of funds to both local partners and INGOs in 18 country locations. ICVA was pleased to see some new approaches for the distribution of these funds developed in 2020. Including the proposal to move forward with a new regionally hosted Pooled Fund in Central and West Africa. Embedded in the planning of this new fund is the intent to rely more on existing due diligence information from other agencies in the partner selection process, which will aid in further reducing burdens on NGO staff, while enabling greater access to Pooled Funds in countries outside the current 18 CBPF locations.
UN Central Emergency Response funding (CERF) also developed new approaches in 2020 to increase the pass-through of funds to NGOs. A special CERF allocation administered by IOM was piloted during the year to provide support to NGOs working on health and water and sanitation responses to COVID-19 in six countries: Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, Haiti, Libya, South Sudan and Sudan. UNFPA was also granted a special CERF allocation, with a portion dedicated to NGOs working with women-led organisations for the prevention of gender-based violence in humanitarian settings. ICVA is monitoring how these new funding allocation flow to front line responders and will seek to improve NGO engagement with CERF in 2021.
Humanitarian Financing
ICVA’s Humanitarian Financing work advocates to ensure funding can flow as effectively as possible to meet the needs of populations affected by crisis, as well as supporting better access to humanitarian financing for NGOs.
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Risk Management Learning Series
ICVA recognised that many humanitarian organisations struggle with applying risk management in their decision-making process. For this reason, ICVA continued the 2019 theme of Risk Management in our Navigating Change Learning Series. ICVA and PHAP hosted the following webinars throughout the year:
Topic 1: Security Risk Management and Duty of Care during COVID-19
Topic 2: Balancing Risk Appetite and Risk Tolerance in Humanitarian Operations
Topic 3: The Impact of Bank De-risking on Humanitarian Action
Each webinar narrowed in on different aspects of risk and provided a platform for the NGO community to share their current practices, discuss, and learn from one another in order to better understand how to manage risks when working in the humanitarian sector and apply it in their day-to-day work.
ICVA Annual Conference 2020
Each year, ICVA holds an Annual Conference, which provides an important opportunity for our members to connect and discuss issues relevant to the humanitarian sector. This year the conference focused on a topic highlighted by our members and partners -- the importance to dive deeper into the risk to principled humanitarian action, and in turn, the risks taken by NGOs to deliver effective and efficient humanitarian assistance to those most in need.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 18 March, ICVA held it’s first-ever Virtual Annual Conference on principled humanitarian action and risk. It took the form of three webinar sessions organised in collaboration with PHAP.
The transformation of ICVA’s face-to-face annual conference to a successful online event in such a short time, demonstrated the agility of the whole sector to respond to the everchanging environment. COVID-19 was an inescapable topic throughout the discussions of the Annual Conference, touching on the ability of locally based humanitarian actors, including youth, to respond and lobby for exceptional measures from donors for quick decision-making, flexibility and real risk sharing attitude. With other disrupters and challenges discussed throughout the three sessions, it was clear that principled humanitarian action has not been put on hold. However, in order to respond and deliver to those most vulnerable populations, partners will need to support NGOs to strengthen risk management within organisations in the humanitarian sector.
The conference had active and vibrant engagement of almost 1,300 participants, who either joined the event on the webinar platform or through video and audio-only livestreams. The report and the recordings of all three sessions can be found on ICVA’s 2020 Virtual Annual Conference webpage.
Child Rights
Throughout the months of June and July, ICVA and UNICEF, in co-organisation with the NGO consortia SCHR and InterAction, launched the NGO Briefings on Humanitarian partnerships in COVID-19 response which covered thematic discussions on simplification and flexibility measures, public health, wash response and UNICEF’s child protection and social and nutrition response. This series of webinars aimed to support better collaboration on the ground between UNICEF and NGO partners in their collective response for children. On 17-19 November, UNICEF and ICVA organised the UNICEF – NGO Partnership in Humanitarian Action 2020 Annual Consultation ‘Working Together to Address Emerging Challenges’. Attended by 489 participants working in 90 countries, the consultations followed up on the commitments endorsed in 2019 and focused on the ongoing efforts to address emerging challenges in 2020, most notably the impacts of COVID-19 on partnerships, decolonisation of aid, localisation, anti-racism and anti-discrimination efforts, UNICEF simplified partnership procedures and funding flexibility for NGOs in the context of COVID-19 and beyond, with the aim to contribute to a respectful, diverse, inclusive, equitable and mutually accountable partnership. A number of recommendations came out of the Consultations on how to improve humanitarian partnership to protect children in humanitarian settings, which are highlighted in the 2020 UNICEF-NGO Consultation summary report.
PSEA workshop January 2020
Risk Briefing papers
1. Recording statistics compiled on 15 January 2021
ICVA & PHAP – ICVA Annual Conference, March 2020
Navigating Change
ICVA’s Navigating Change focus area looks to develop strategic thinking in navigating different cross cutting issues of Nexus, localization, civil society space, diversity and inclusion, PSEA, and risk management and their interconnections with each other and across ICVA’s other focus areas.
Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)
Through various advocacy and policy efforts done throughout the year, ICVA continued its active contribution to NGO and interagency efforts regarding Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). ICVA participated in all IASC bodies on PSEA, including the IASC Results Group 2 on Accountability and Inclusion, the PSEA Thematic Experts Group (TEG) and the Field support Team (FST), where it both supported the participation of NGOs and actively participated in field support missions in DRC and CAR. In 2020 we launched the ICVA-UNHCR Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Outreach and Communication Fund. The objective of the Fund is to facilitate the development of context-specific and culturally appropriate communication and outreach materials on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. The fund, managed by ICVA and a steering group, provides grants to national and local NGOs looking to develop PSEA materials. More than 1500 applications were received from almost a 100 countries and covering every continent, confirming that there is significant need for outreach on PSEA. After the applications were reviewed funding was granted to 19 NGOs from 19 countries.
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A primary focus for ICVA Africa in 2020 was engaging with members, NGO Fora and the African Union (AU). In order to give support to our members, ICVA stayed up to date on the latest inputs and crises as well as opportunities around funding access.
Some of the major themes of ICVA Africa in 2020 were:
Active engagement around migration and displacement in Africa
Along side the UNHCR Regional Office in Nairobi, and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) office in Addis Ababa, ICVA contributed to the background paper on the State of the World’s Forcibly Displaced Report to be published in 2021. The aim was to provide an overview of the most important developments in the Horn, East and Great Lakes region in policy and practice over the last decade.
NGO Fora in Africa
In 2020 ICVA gave structured support to NGO Fora on the specific aspect of NGO laws and their impact on humanitarian affairs throughout the continent. In several cases NGO laws propose a mix of opportunities and concerning restrictions.
ICVA is working to open a dialogue with governments to provide elements aimed at preserving civil society space and respect of humanitarian principles ICVA Africa has been advocating on specific points about shrinking space for humanitarian actors, criminalisation of aid and various bureaucratic impediments. The advocacy efforts have included Permanent Missions in Geneva, the IASC, International Centre for Not-for-Profit-Law (ICNL) and TrustLaw. A number of peer to peer exchange where held virtually with fora from the continent interacting with their counterparts in various regions. These exchanges where mainly around the GHRP, Fora support to membership in the times of COVID-19.
Regional preparedness on COVID-19
This year ICVA Africa supported the roll out of the READY workshops on disease outbreaks, focused on COVID-19 in Africa. ICVA also facilitated multiple meetings between members and key donors to have discussions about the actual status of COVID-19 related funding. A primary topic of discussion was UN pass-through funding to NGOs, through existing and new mechanisms, with very minimal funding actually reaching the NGOs. This issue has been escalated to the global level to find appropriate solutions.
In 2020 ICVA Asia had a focus on supporting NGOs adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthen interagency connectedness on key regional issues, and support NGO engagement with ASEAN.
Regional preparedness on COVID-19
ICVA in its role as co-chair to of the Regional Emergency Preparedness Group and as a member of the Regional Director’s Group collated input and feedback to feed into the GHRP and other covid responses, including meetings with donors at regional level to advocate for more inclusive and effective implementation. In addition, throughout the year, ICVA held or participated in various dialogues and webinars with UN and NGO partners such as UNHCR, UNDDRR, Humanitarian Forum Indonesia, Human Initiative and APPRN to understand the impact of COVID-19 on various populations, how to continue to respond to disasters during COVID-19 and the lessons learnt from responses such as Tropical Cyclone Harold and Typhoon Goni.
In 2020 ICVA MENA prioritised collaboration with members in the region and expanding and developing partnerships. ICVA MENA has remained a primary connection for NGOs in the region to have access to high-level and decision-making meetings at the global level.
In 2020 ICVA expanded its presence and knowledge in Latin America, learning how to best support ongoing humanitarian efforts in the region. ICVA continued our partnership with FM4 Paso Libre, this partnership allowed sustainable participation and representation of Latin American NGOs within the ICVA network.
Connecting with our members and NGO Fora
Through our member, FM4 Paso Libre, in Latin America, ICVA has maintained close contact with several NGO Fora in the region. Particularly with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Colombia.
We continue to seek links with Fora’s in the region to strengthen the work of our members and network. We also established contact and presented our work in the region with the LAC RMD Coalition and plan to continue strengthening ties of collaboration.
As added support to our Latin American members and partners in the Region, ICVA through the help of FM4 Paso Libre, has translated many of our resources, briefing papers and monthly Bulletin’s into Spanish.
Displacement in Venezuela
The ICVA-FM4 Paso Libre team continued to follow Venezuela. Working alongside REDLAC and other partners in the region, ICVA has specifically highlighted to the EDG issues related to coerced returns; stigmatisation; human rights and the pandemic’s impact on the health system; malnutrition and livelihood.
Regional preparedness on COVID-19
The ICVA-FM4 Paso Libre team partnered with Trust Law in Latin America to create ways to support ICVA members in the region and enhance education on humanitarian action and related legal aspects pertinent to NGOs in the region. In 2020 a webinar was held by TrustLaw titled, “COVID-19 Legal Health Checks” in Spanish.
ICVA, in collaboration with FM4 Paso Libre, participated in the monthly EDOCHA-RLAC meetings in Panama in order to report updates and impact of COVID-19 and the GHRP in the region and to help connect voices from LATAM to global discussions.
Regional Events:
There were numerous meetings, webinars, events and consultations that ICVA MENA participated in this year. Despite the lack of in-person events due to COVID-19, there was no shortage in collaboration or advocacy for the major trends happening in the region. Some of the highlights from the year were:
NGO Fora in MENA:
This year, ICVA MENA engaged with and supported NGO fora across MENA on governance, strategy, advocacy and policy, including through joint NGO Fora workshops, as well as bilateral support – with a specific focus on Syria, Yemen, OPT, and Libya. ICVA MENA Invested in NGO fora connections to support exchange of information and inform engagement and positioning including at the regional and global IASC and donor level. Examples include the Yemen Pledging conference, in June 2020 where ICVA coordinated with national and international NGOs and NGO Fora to develop and present a statement on their behalf and carrying forward discussions with NGOS and the Syrian NGO Fora (SIRF) to discuss and advocate for collective work on issues such as the UN Cross Border Resolution.
A strategic partnership was developed between UNDP & ICVA MENA to support the development and capacity of 13 Syrian NGO Networks in Syria and Turkey. Subsequentialy, ICVA MENA developed and delivered a training entitled, “Developing Stronger Networks” focusing on joint coordination, governance, and strategic planning was delivered to 14 Syrian NGO Networks. It was part of a wider set of targeted workshops focusing on good governance, strategic planning and enhancing the Syrian CSOs network engagement at different regional and global advocacy and coordination platforms.
ICVA MENA and UNHCR
ICVA is part of the Regional Durable Solutions dialogue which is co-chaired by UNHCR’s Regional Bureau based in Amman. Throughout the year ICVA advocated on specific trends happening in the region on behalf of members and other NGOs and secured opportunities for members to liaise and exchange with UNHCR at regional level. ICVA also convened a dialogue with NGOs in the MENA region and UNHCR, in which NGOs and UNHCR shared information and discussed their strategies related to the COVID-19 crisis.
Regional preparedness on COVID-19:
ICVA MENA remained committed to supporting our members in the region during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ICVA MENA advocated on behalf of NGOs related to the challenges faced in the region, lack of funding and long-term effects on top of pre-existing crises in the region. ICVA translated our briefing paper, “REINFORCE, REINFORCE, REINFORCE: Localization in the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response” into Arabic as a resource to members, partners, NGOs and other stakeholders. Additionally, ICVA MENA convened a meeting with all MENA NGO fora representatives to exchange and engage on preparedness and response in the context of COVID-19. Furthermore, through ICVAs global COVID-19 NGO Fora Support project, three national NGO fora recieved structured support, including financial support, to implement advocacy related projects, addressing local actors response to COVID-19, and strengthing governance structure in order to properly represent their members.
Improving dialogue with and on regional actors
Within the Asia Pacific region there are diverse actors supporting effective humanitarian response. To support NGO awareness and engagement with them ICVA held a range of different events.
Some of these events included:
Engagement with ASEAN
In the lead up to the development of ASEAN AADMER Work Program 2021-2025, ICVA supported a CSO consultation process to review the role of NGOs in the 2016-2020 work program and provide inputs and reccomendations. ICVA’s Regional Representative also participated in a panel discussion on Strengthening Community Resilience and Multi-stakeholder Partnerships and made 5 key recommendations for how to advance the localization agenda in ASEAN, including to support meaningful capacity strengthening and partnerships and improve accountability to local communities.
China Engagement
ICVA had the first Chinese NGO join the ICVA membership in May 2020. ICVA has continued to foster closer connection and relation with China’s humanitarian actors and opens a two-way influence for advocacy on funding and policy in China and in the region. This also facilitates more diverse and inclusive approaches to coordination and expands the role of Chinese NGOs in the Humanitarian eco-system.
Regional IASC and Interagency Humanitarian Partnership teams
Active participation has continued in 2020 with all Africa sub regions: East Africa, Southern Africa and West and Central Africa. Throughout the year representatives from various NGO fora briefed the regional directors about concerns for aggravated humanitarian crises in the regions.
Advocacy for Sahel Region
Building on the work of 2019 ICVA has heavily advocated for support in the Sahel region to improve humanitarian development. There have been a series of meetings in 2020 focused on the Central Sahel. Among these meetings was the High-Level Humanitarian Event on the Central Sahel, featuring an Inter-ministerial Round Table organised by the governments of Denmark and Germany, OCHA and the European Union. For the event, ICVA supported NGOs operating in the region to position their statement which was read during the Round Table. ICVA also hosted a side event, “Humanitarian and development realities in the central Sahel” which was attended by representatives from governments in the region, the ICRC, World Bank, UN, NGOs and civil society organisations.
Africa Union
During 2020 ICVA and our members engaged in policy dialogues and round tables related to the 2020 AU theme of the year “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.” ICVA also attended the 8th Humanitarian Symposium organised by the African Union Commission, where ICVA, participated in the panel “Supporting Inclusive Humanitarian Responses to COIVD-19 Pandemic in Africa” where we shared the views of ICVA membership on issues related to access and movement restrictions related to COVID-19 and highlighted some of the consequences of these restriction on the most vulnerable populations that the community serves. Furthermore, ICVA provided some key recommendations, based on the consultations that were conducted with ICVA membership (through various working groups) to the AU commission.
ICVA members Meetings, February 2020
HNPW Panel session “More Inclusive Coordination for The Global South” - February 2020
Riyadh Humanitarian Forum March 2020
INGO Fora Colombia, January 2020
MENA team COVID-Ready! September 2020
Following the HNPW Panel session “More Inclusive Coordination for The Global South” - February 2020
Yemen Conference, June 2020
Regions
ICVA’s regional Hubs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Latin America, provide proximity to members, NGO networks and partners in the region. The hubs also expand representation to regional humanitarian and political actors, strengthen links between field realities and global policies and strengthen support and collective advocacy.
Africa
Asia
MENA
Latin America
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Statement of Income and Expenses for the financial year
ended 31 December (in Swiss francs)
Balance sheet as at 31 December (in Swiss francs)The Audited Financial Statements can be found on the ICVA website.
Finance
PwC audited the financial statements of ICVA for the year which ended 31 December 2020. It is the opinion of the statutory auditor that the “financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 give a fair and true view of the financial position, the results of the operation and the cash flows in accordance with the Swiss GAAP FER and comply with Swiss law, the association’s deed and internal regulations.”
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We wish to recognise and thank the suppliers and commercial partners for their flexibility and the quality of the services they maintained while disrupted by the pandemic.
Donors
ICVA is grateful to its membership and partners for dues, funding and other contributions and in-kind support. We thank Save the Children, ICMC, APRRN, International Rescue Committee (IRC), and Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA) for their support to the Regional Hubs. We thank the following governments, UN agencies and philanthropic Foundations for their generous support in 2020.
Mid-term Strategy Review
An external review of ICVA’s impact was conducted for 2019-2020, the final report to be published in 2021. The report includes case studies looking at some of the specific work undertaken in 2019 and 2020. These studies looked at the 8+3 narrative reporting template, South-South engagement and China Cooperation, Advocacy for the Sahel, Engaging in IASC mechanisms and COVID-19 response in 2020. A full 3-year review for 2019-2021 will be available early 2022.
Preparations for the 18th ICVA General Assembly 2021
The ICVA General Assembly will be held on 18 & 19 May 2021. Every three years ICVA’s General Assembly brings ICVA members together to celebrate the network and agree on a strategy for the forthcoming years. It is also the time when the General Assembly elects a new Board and Chair, and discusses other business matters, such as amending the ICVA Statutes and adopting the ICVA 2030 Strategy. The 18th General Assembly will be held online due to Covid-19 restrictions.
ICVA Staff as of December 2020
ICVA Members as of December 2020
INGO Fora Colombia, January 2020
Governance and Management
All ICVA Board meetings in 2020 were online with much of the work done through the three committees, Finance & Administration Committee, Membership Committee and Policy, Programme and Advocacy Committee.
The ICVA Secretariat team is based in Geneva, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Amman and Bangkok.
Mr Ignacio Packer Executive Director
Ms Mirela Shuteriqi Director of Policy
Mr Michael Hyden Director of Programme
Mr Jeremy Wellard Head of Humanitarian Coordination
Mr Obele Oluchukwu Iheakandu NGO Fora & COVID-19 Support Officer
Mr Jérôme Elie Head of Forced Migration
Ms Loise Dai Rocheteau Policy Officer Forced Migration
Mr Jeremy Rempel Head of Humanitarian Financing
Mr Alon Plato Policy Officer Humanitarian Financing
Nishanie Jayamaha Learning and Programme Coordinator
Ms Vania Gobbo Associate Policy Officer
Ms Keya Saha-Chaudhury Regional Representative for Asia
and the Pacific
Ms Qingrui Huang Deputy Regional Representative for Asia and Pacific
Ms Eman Ismail Regional Representative for MENA
Ms Stephanie Yousef Deputy Regional Representative for MENA
Mr Marco Rotelli Regional Representative for Africa
Mr Addis Tesfa Deputy Regional Representative for Africa
Ms Lina Gomez Latin America Regional Contact
Ms Fiona Wilkie Information Officer
Ms Christian Benadum Communications Officer
Mr Fabrice Cadoux Finance Officer
Ms Mylene Soto Administration and Events Assistant