The IBCR in Geneva for the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action’s annual meeting

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action held its annual meeting on the 14th and 15th of October, in Geneva, Switzerland. The IBCR spoke about a specific training technique: the key competence approach to train social actors working with children, within the context of strenghtening child protection systems.

Focusing on the state of play of child protection in humanitarian action and the need to link different actors to address needs and reduce risks and vulnerabilities, this annual meeting covered a range of topics, from strengthening child protection systems to child well-being. It was also the occasion to officially unveil the 2nd version of the Minimum Standards for the Protection of Children in Humanitarian Action (see below).

Through its projects, the IBCR has been able to measure the many challenges related to resistance to change, particularly in social services. This reflection led to the development of a specific training method based on the competency-based approach, to initiate a change in practices. Various workshops have in the past enabled the Bureau to identify the key competencies needed by professionals interacting with children, the justice sector, the police, and social work. These workshops resulted in the development of competency frameworks for child protection actors. It is this competency-based approach that the IBCR presented on Monday, October 14th, to the assembly in Geneva.

Les Normes minimales pour la Protection des enfants dans l’action humanitaire

Created in 2012 by the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, this document aims to establish common principles between all actors in child protection and humanitarian action. Years of implementation in various contexts have revealed the need for a simplified and more adapted version of these Standards. Thus, after two years of work, the new version was unveiled on Tuesday, 15th October.

The IBCR collaborated with the Alliance in a working group dedicated to child justice in emergencies, an area targeted in a standard of this tool (standard n°14, renamed n°20 in the new version) (more information here).

> Click here to download the new Standards

 

© photos : Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action