SESSION 5.1: TOOLS FOR MONITORING/ASSESSING PROTECTION NEEDS
Time allotted for Session 5.1:
45 minutes
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POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
Time allotted for PowerPoint presentation:
30 minutes
Slide 1: Introduction
This session specifically looks at tools for monitoring/assessing protection needs with a special
focus on checklists. As we have already talked about why monitoring and assessments are
important during natural disasters in a prior session, this session will focus more practically on
introducing a collection of checklists for different stages of disaster response. These checklists
will then be used in the case-studies exercise at the end of this session.
Slide 2: Overview
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Monitoring Tools: rationale for checklists
Checklists for integrating human rights in natural disaster management in the Pacific
Slide 3: Disasters create vulnerabilities
The challenge is to create tools that keep track of these vulnerabilities during the response and
recovery phases.
Slide 4: Rationale for a checklist
A checklist of what and how to monitor is a useful tool because it potentially allows you to
address the following issues:
 Gaps: When there are no formal mechanisms for monitoring and assessing protection issues
during disasters gaps occur. Useful and pragmatic tools are needed to address the gap.
 Complacency: In the region, e.g. "Cyclones are a part of life" – yes, but this does not mean
we should not respond to the hazard they pose to people!
 Reinforcing Vulnerabilities: Disaster situations, and responses to these situations, can
reinforce and exacerbate vulnerabilities. Guiding operational tools can help humanitarians
mitigate this.
 Unnoticed Issues: If there is no official monitoring, assessment and reporting needs of
affected populations might go unnoticed. Especially vulnerable groups or communities that
are difficult to reach might not receive sufficient assistance.
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Promoting and Protecting Rights in Natural Disasters:
Workshop Modules and Facilitator’s Guide
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December 2010
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Capacity: Not all humanitarian workers are fully trained on these issues - checklists are easy
to use without extensive training.
Slide 5: A wide array of resources
The humanitarian community has developed a wide array of resources, standards and codes of
conduct that give us useful benchmarks that can be used in checklists. The following is a list of
useful resources:
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The IASC Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Rights of Persons in Situations of
Natural Disasters
Sphere Project Minimum Standards
Humanitarian Accountability Partnership
Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action
(ALNAP)
Red Cross/Red Crescent Code of Conduct
Standards and Indicators in UN Operational Guides
Slide 6: Checklists for integrating human rights in natural disaster management in the Pacific
We will now introduce the “Checklists for Integrating Human Rights in Natural Disaster
Management in the Pacific.” The checklists were developed by the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Regional Office for the Pacific, and by UNDP’s Pacific Centre.
Even though the checklists were developed for the Pacific region, they are applicable in disaster
situations all over the world and can easily be adjusted to local needs and settings.
The checklists are not a questionnaire, but a ‘memory trigger’ for key human rights issues
focusing on identifying and flagging key issues – a “red flag” - for further analysis and possibly
action. The checklists are customized for each phase of the disaster situation and provide a
practical tool (pocket-size) with a version available for the UNDAC handbook on the emergency
response phase.
Slide 7: 3 Checklists
There is a checklist for each phase in the disaster cycle:
 Emergency response
 Disaster response and recovery
 Disaster preparedness
Each checklist is structured in 4 sections according to the groupings of rights presented in the
IASC Operational Guidelines on Human Rights Protection in Situations of Natural Disaster.
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Promoting and Protecting Rights in Natural Disasters:
Workshop Modules and Facilitator’s Guide
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December 2010
Slides 8 + 9: Phase 1: Checklist for emergency response
Note to facilitator: Question to participants: which issues would you place in this category?
What has been your experience of human rights issues in the emergency response phase of
disasters?
Some of the issues that may arise are:
 Physical and sexual violence
 Law enforcement in disarray
 Secondary disaster risks
 Displacement
 Discrimination in aid distribution
 Diseases
 Lost contact with family
This and the following slide show examples of how these issues appear on the checklist (very
simple and easy to answer):
 Have sufficient law enforcement personnel been deployed to at-risk areas? Are they
successfully ensuring the safety and security of all the affected population?
 Have all members of the affected population (both host and displaced communities)
been informed & protected against dangers of secondary and other disaster risks
(earthquake, flooding, landslide, fire, toxic waste, rubble, asbestos, etc.)?
 Do all those in need, including vulnerable groups, have safe and non-discriminatory
access to assistance?
 Are there indications that aid is being diverted or used for an unintended purpose?
 Do independent humanitarian organizations have free and unrestricted access to all
affected areas and/or populations?
 Have appropriate measures been taken to re-establish contacts between separated
family members and/or track locations of missing relatives?
 Are burials conducted in accordance with local religious and cultural practices/beliefs
and in a manner that respects the dignity and privacy of the dead and their families?
Slides 10-14: Phase 2: Disaster Response and Recovery
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Disaster Response & Recovery Human Rights Issues: a more detailed checklist which can be
referred to both during response and recovery to help identify key human rights issues that
may emerge.
Human rights are indivisible, but in emergencies, some rights need to be protected right
away while others can wait a bit.
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Promoting and Protecting Rights in Natural Disasters:
Workshop Modules and Facilitator’s Guide
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December 2010
Note to facilitator: Question to participants: what priority order do you think human rights
should take on in a disaster context? What are the different rationales you can use to support
this priority order?
This and the following slides again give examples from the checklist on Disaster Response and
Recovery. The checklist is subdivided in four categories:
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Protection of life, security of the person, physical integrity and dignity (Slide 10)
o Is the displaced population able to freely choose where they wish to live within
their country?
o Have all members of the affected community been provided with accurate
information regarding the nature and scale of the disaster? And on the ongoing
humanitarian assistance and recovery activities?
Protection of economic, social and cultural rights (Slides 11-13)
o Are goods and services provided and managed in a way that takes into account
the safety, and preserves the dignity of vulnerable groups (i.e. water supply,
bathing/sanitation facilities, etc)?
o Are both women and men involved in the assessment and distribution of relief
and recovery assistance?
o Is free and accessible primary education being provided to all children (girls and
boys) affected by the disaster?
o Has the return of housing, land, property and possessions to the affected
population been facilitated by the authorities as soon as possible and has the
affected population been properly informed/consulted?
o Is compensation being disbursed in a timely, non-discriminatory manner?
o Are appropriate, equitable and independent mechanisms in place to provide
support to those that did not have land/assets prior to the disaster?
o Have building codes or standards been agreed to and are they being practiced?
o Has the affected population been able to resume their livelihoods and/or
identify new employment opportunities?
Protection of civil and political rights: (Slide 14)
o Are there any indications that freedom of movement or freedom to return are
being denied to any portion of the affected population?
o Is documentation (temporary or replacement) being issued without
discrimination (including to women, unaccompanied/orphaned children, etc.)?
o Have all members of the affected population been meaningfully consulted and,
where possible, involved in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of
response and recovery programs?
o Have measures been taken to ensure that all members of the affected
population of voting age can vote and participate in elections?
o Are policies and mechanisms in place to rapidly issue temporary or replacement
documentation, if needed?
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Promoting and Protecting Rights in Natural Disasters:
Workshop Modules and Facilitator’s Guide
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December 2010
o Have effective mechanisms been established for individuals and communities to
raise complaints or grievances on response and recovery activities, if needed?
Slides 15-18: Checklist for Disaster Preparedness
The third checklist deals with the disaster preparedness phase and disaster preparedness
activities. Again it follows the structure laid out by the IASC Operational Guidelines on Human
Rights Protection in Situations of Natural Disasters.
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Protection of life, security of the person, physical integrity and dignity (Slide 15)
o Has human rights training been provided to relevant disaster response
personnel?
o Does an integrated National Disaster Management Plan exist?
o In areas at risk of natural disasters, do effective early warning/early action
systems exist?
o Have at-risk communities been provided with accurate and easy to understand
information on possible risk mitigation measures that can be taken (early
warning information, evacuation plans/locations, etc.)?
Protection of rights related to the basic necessities of life (Slide 16)
o Do contingency and response plans take into account: considerations of gender,
culture and vulnerable groups?
o Do basic service providers (hospitals, clinics, police, schools, etc) have their own
contingency plans to ensure continued activity in the event of a disaster?
Protection of economic, social and cultural rights: (Slides 17)
o Do local level disaster risk management policies and programs incorporate
religious and/or cultural traditions? Informal and/or non-permanent housing?
o Are appropriate legal frameworks in place to protect the rights of women and
children, including as they relate to land and housing?
o Do financial controls and systems of accountability exist for relief and
reconstruction funds?
Protection of civil and political rights (Slide 18)
o Are policies and mechanisms in place to rapidly issue temporary or replacement
documentation, if needed?
o Have effective mechanisms been established for individuals and communities to
raise complaints or grievances on response and recovery activities, if needed?
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PLENARY DISCUSSION
Time allotted for plenary discussion: 15 minutes
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Promoting and Protecting Rights in Natural Disasters:
Workshop Modules and Facilitator’s Guide
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December 2010