Overview

Since its establishment in 2004, Conflict Dynamics has worked with United Nations- and non-governmental humanitarian organizations, academic institutions and select UN Member States to advance the policy and practice of humanitarian negotiations, with a particular focus on humanitarian negotiations with non-State armed groups. The motivation driving this work is to assist humanitarian organizations in securing better humanitarian outcomes.

This portfolio of Conflict Dynamics’ work has included humanitarian policy development, development and delivery of advanced training workshops, and other associated activities. In addition, Conflict Dynamics works with U.N. partners to increase cross-agency uptake and dissemination of the policy guidance and associated training. This humanitarian negotiations portfolio benefits from Conflict Dynamics’ direct experience of negotiations with a range of actors, including State forces, national authorities, non-State armed groups and humanitarian organizations.

The training and outreach activities form the nucleus of Conflict Dynamics’ Humanitarian Negotiation Training Initiative (HNTI).

Five areas of activity

Conflict Dynamics’ portfolio on humanitarian negotiations consists of five inter-related component task areas:

1. humanitarian policy development
2. development and delivery of advanced training
3. provision of ‘technical support’ on specific negotiation challenges
4. outreach/dissemination activities; and
5. work with UN partners to increase cross-agency uptake and dissemination of the guidance and associated training.

This multi-strand approach places Conflict Dynamics in a unique position to understand the complexities of humanitarian negotiations and to assist partners across the multiple dimensions of humanitarian negotiations. The advanced training workshops and technical support on humanitarian negotiations in particular provide important insights into the challenges and dilemmas associated with humanitarian negotiations, which can in turn be incorporated into future policy refinement and development.

Humanitarian Policy Development

While humanitarian practitioners had always engaged to varying degrees with armed forces – State- and non-State forces alike – the proliferation of internal conflicts following the end of the Cold War and the changing nature of the security environment for humanitarian workers, among other factors, placed new emphasis on the need for a structured approach to engaging with non-State armed groups.

The need for a structured approach to humanitarian negotiations was also acknowledged in successive reports of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict starting in 1999. This ultimately led to a request from the U.N. Secretary-General to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to develop a manual for humanitarian negotiations. The IASC set up an informal working group to coordinate drafting of the manual and consultations commenced in 2002.

At the same time, UNICEF also initiated policy research on the issue of humanitarian negotiations with non-State armed groups; UNICEF’s Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS) produced a draft guidance note on engagement with non-State entities in 2004.

In mid-2004 Gerard Mc Hugh, President of the (then-) newly-established Conflict Dynamics, was approached by OCHA’s Policy Development and Studies Branch (PDSB) in New York regarding a project to develop a manual on humanitarian negotiations with non-State armed groups

Throughout 2004 and 2005, OCHA and UNICEF played a lead role in coordinating the project to develop the Manual and in the process substantive content of the UNICEF guidance note was woven into the Manual text. Development of the manual was undertaken in close collaboration with members of the IASC. The project culminated in the publication, in January 2006, or two new UN publications: a manual titled, Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Groups: A Manual for Practitioners and an accompanying set of Field Guidelines.