Engaging Communities in Protection Strategies

Conflict-affected communities often understand the threats they face better than any outside intervener and may have developed self-protection strategies of which others are not aware. Moreover, communities’ perceptions of outside protection actors can impact the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of international peace and stability operations. Consequently, engaging community voices is a critical step in designing and monitoring effective protection strategies.

According to new guidance, UN peacekeeping operations that are mandated to protect are expected to create comprehensive strategies to protect civilians that include the perspective and engagement of conflict-affected communities. Stimson's Civilians in Conflict project has developed a two-year research initiative to explore how civil society, conflict-affected communities and international stakeholders, including peacekeeping operations, can use field research to identify threats and monitor changes in the security situation. The initiative will be undertaken in conflict-affected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan and will use a combination of civil society-facilitated focus groups (and possibly surveys), desk research, and interviews with stakeholders to identify strategies that could more effectively link the voices of vulnerable communities to UN peacekeeping operations' comprehensive protection of civilians strategies.

In 2012, the Civilians in Conflict project partnered with an international humanitarian and development NGO (INGO) in DRC to undertake the research.  The INGO was working with a network of civil society partner organizations and had undertaken protection assessments in eastern DRC for almost five years. Civilians in Conflict staff Alison Giffen and Aditi Gorur traveled to eastern DRC in May 2012 to refine the research methodology with the INGO and civil society partners and to participate in training workshops of focus group facilitators. In June, the civil society partners conducted focus groups and interviews of over 1300 individuals in 32 conflict-affected communities across the three eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Gorur returned to eastern DRC in July for debriefing workshops with civil society partners. The data collected is now being assessed, analyzed and synthesized into various reports.

In South Sudan, the Civilians in Conflict project is finalizing a partnership to undertake similar field research. Giffen traveled to Juba, South Sudan in late May to meet with NGO, peacekeeping and government actors about violence against civilians in South Sudan and the role of the UN Mission in South Sudan in the protection of civilians. Additional travel to South Sudan is scheduled for late 2012. 

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Photo credit: UN Photo/Basile Zoma