Panel sessions
The EHF 2024 panel sessions will consist of moderated discussions among the wider humanitarian- development community, including EU institutions, EU Member States, third countries, partner organisations, local humanitarian actors, UN agencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent family and academics.
Humanitarian Talks
Humanitarian Talks provide a space for discussion running in parallel with the EHF panels and an opportunity for focused exchange on concrete deliverables as well as on more specific humanitarian issues and crises that will not be addressed in the EHF24 panel sessions.
Humanitarian Talks complement the EHF programme with hands-on discussions, which reinforce the
“concrete delivery” aspect of the Forum. Proposed and led by partners and Member States, they offer an
alternative platform for humanitarian stakeholders to contribute and thematically complement the core
agenda of the event.
The Talks will showcase initiatives and discussions driven by partners, Member States and practitioners.
Recorded Humanitarian Talk, Organised by : Plan International
“We do not need food. We need security” - this was the message a young Iraqi girl wore on a sign tied around her neck in the midst of the Iraq war in 1991. She has grown since then, but the need remains. Protection is the most pressing need of people caught in conflict. The absence of safety and security not only has a direct and devasting impact on people’s life, but it is also one of the main obstacles to humanitarian access.
Assistance-focused activities, representing the bulk of humanitarian aid, do not bring an adequate response. Remedial activities do answer the crucial question: “How would you feel more protected?”.
There is a collective recognition amongst humanitarian actors that as violent conflict is on the rise and parties involved fail to adequately protect civilians, there is a need to do more to prevent and mitigate violence and improve safety and security of civilians. However, there are currently several challenges. Those partly come from the lack of a precise definition and the vagueness of the current framework, but also include increasing risk-aversion, focus on remedial action, limited use of innovative interventions, and the lack of coordination with protection actors beyond the humanitarian sphere.
This panel will present pro-active protection methods with a concrete impact on the safety and security of the affected population. They include protection by presence, humanitarian mediation, civil-military coordination, interposition, and civilian self-protection mechanisms.
Key questions to be addressed:
- How can humanitarian organisations contribute to protection, safety, security of civilians?
- What are the concrete actions, methods, and interventions that have proven efficient?
- What are the challenges to scale up such interventions?
How can donors, academics and humanitarian organisations overcome those challenges?
Session organised by:
- Norway
- Belgium