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Publications
Throughout the year, VOICE produces and disseminates key documents reflecting on humanitarian aid issues at the EU level and from an NGO perspective. They are addressed to decision-makers within the European institutions, at the National level, to NGO networks and other stakeholders of the humanitarian community, as well as to the VOICE members. Some documents are produced by the VOICE Secretariat with the support of VOICE members while others are publications from members and other key stakeholders in the humanitarian sector.
Please note that members-only documents will not be visible unless you are logged in.
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Joint NGO letter to EU heads of states calling for EU response to migration led by values, not fear
08 March 2017Members' publications162 NGOs and networks from 20 countries, among them39 VOICE members, call for EU leaders to live up to their commitments to European values in responding to migration and stop copying xenophobic populist recipes. EU leaders must show strong leadership that both defends human rights and addresses people’s fears, rather than fuelling them. The letter also calls for EU leaders to go beyond rhetoric and deliver on their commitments to defend the human rights of men, women and children on the move. -
Stockholm roundtable programme: WHS, the Grand Bargain, Aleppo and Ukraine: what should the EU’s humanitarian priorities be in 2017?
07 March 2017The World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), Grand Bargain and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) all present opportunities for increased solidarity and engagement in humanitarian action. They come at a time when humanitarian actors are confronted with major challenges in responding to the growing needs worldwide, for instance in Aleppo, Ukraine and in Europe’s migration crisis. In this context, what should the EU’s humanitarian priorities be in 2017/2018?
VOICE with its Swedish members organised a roundtable with the intention to bring together the national humanitarian perspectives from Scandinavian countries with the European perspective. -
VOICE response to civil society consultation on new Resilience Communication
02 March 2017VOICE position papersIn 2012 – 2013 VOICE engaged in the consultation organised by the European Commission when it developed its Resilience Communication as well as in the drafting of its Action Plan. Last year VOICE also contributed to the EU process leading to the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, bringing forward a perspective from humanitarian NGOs.
Today, the Global Strategy remains a political vision and the upcoming new Communication on Resilience, which will be developed under the leadership of the EEAS, is perceived as an essential step in its implementation.
NGOs from the humanitarian and development sectors welcomed the civil society consultation that was organised on February 17th around the upcoming Communication on Resilience.
This contribution is based on meetings held with members and key points raised by them, on VOICE positioning and contributions to the EU policies on resilience and the Global Strategy, as well on the outcomes of the three workshops held during the civil society consultation. -
Considerations for Planning Mass Evacuations of Civilians in Conflict Settings
13 February 2017Members' publicationsEvacuations are one of the most delicate operations in a crisis environment. This guidance offers suggestions and considerations to help humanitarians, including NRC staff, to make decisions, ensure adequate planning and minimise risks to the affected population. -
Donor counter-terrorism measures and principled humanitarian action: Where are we at?
09 February 2017VOICE event reportsVOICE organised this event on 30 November 2016 to raise awareness of NGOs and other stakeholders about the impact of counter-terrorism laws and policies on humanitarian action. It was attended by 104 participants from civil society and European Institutions. -
Joint NGO letter: call for immediate cessation of armed conflict and protection of civilians in Kachin and Northern Shan States, Myanmar
25 January 2017Members' publicationsA number of NGOs, including several VOICE members, wrote a joint letter, calling for protection of civilians in Myanmar's Kachin and Northern Shan States and asking the government and international community to take action. -
Suffering in Silence: The 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2016
17 January 2017Members' publicationsCARE International launches a new report on the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2016. The report, "Suffering in Silence", features food crises in Eritrea, Madagascar, North Korea and Papua New Guinea; conflicts in Burundi, Lake Chad Basin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan and last year's monsoon floods in Bangladesh. -
"Putting People First" - Community engagement in humanitarian practice
06 January 2017Members' publicationsAddressing the central recommendation from the World Humanitarian Summit 2016 of ‘putting people first’, the Johanniter organised and evaluated two community engagement trainings, in Germany and DR Congo. They found that the „People First Impact Method“ (P-FIM) is a cost effective and efficient way to ensure that humanitarian response is timely, relevant and appropriate, where communities play their rightful role and the dignity of people affected by crisis is respected. -
Bratislava regional roundtable - final report
21 December 2016VOICE event reportsOn 14 November 2016, VOICE and the Slovak NGO platform MVRO hosted a regional roundtable and workshops on "Working differently to end need". -
Bratislava roundtable "Working differently to end need" agenda
13 December 2016VOICE, together with Slovak NGO platform MVRO, hosted a regional roundtable in Bratislava that saw over 50 participants discuss national humanitarian priorities and expectations following the World Humanitarian Summit and Grand Bargain. -
VOICE Out Loud 24: How humanitarian NGOs work with the private sector
02 December 2016VOICE out loudIn May of this year, governments, NGOs and international agencies came together at the World Humanitarian Summit to discuss the future of humanitarian aid worldwide. Also present, and involved in the process leading up to the Summit particularly around funding, were representatives from the private sector. Humanitarian NGOs and different private sector actors have worked together for years, but increasingly donors, including the EU, identify that there may be further potential benefits of private sector partnerships in times of ever-increasing humanitarian need. Such partnerships, though largely considered necessary, do not come without a challenge, particularly when applied in conflict settings where NGOs focus first on maintaining the humanitarian principles and standards. When NGOs seek to engage they must always carefully weigh the benefits and limits of the relationship with private sector actors.
Starting off this edition of the VOICE out loud, Handicap International and Welthungerhilfe write about the benefits and risks of working with the private sector, and explain what systems and criteria they use to choose companies to work with. Several members give examples of their successful collaborations with the private sector in the field and at home. HelpAge writes about the conditions for successfully working with cash in emergency situations with help from business partners. Mercy Corps UK showcases how partnerships can vary in different country settings, giving examples from Greece and Syria. Finally, Polish Humanitarian Action writes about working with companies to raise funds for programmes in the field.
In the view on the EU, Civil Society Europe presents outcomes from civil society reports that show evidence of shrinking civil society space in Europe. The section continues with an interview with Isabelle Brachet from the Action Aid EU office on the experience of development NGOs working on the role of the private sector in EU development policy and practice.
The 'field focus' is written by Plan UK about continuing displacement from the Burundi crisis, the importance of protection for young people in a forgotten crisis, and the work Plan is doing in neighbouring Tanzania to address this.
The VOICE @ work section highlights the networks' latest activities and publications, including roundtables and high-level meetings. -
Hotter planet, humanitarian crisis
24 November 2016Members' publicationsActionAid launched a new report "Hotter Planet, Humanitarian Crisis", which found that over 400 million people have been affected by this year's El Nino weather event, as a result of record droughts in a year that has also seen record levels of CO2 and the planet's hottest ever year.
The report calls on the international community and donor countries to provide more climate finance and close the $3.1 billion funding gap to deal with the current El Nino crisis. Capacity building and adaptation strategies, as well as better planning, are needed to ensure such predictable crises can be prevented in the future. Collaboration between climate and humanitarian bodies must be strengthened. -
FPA WG meeting exchange with ECHO - 27 October 2016
27 October 2016FPA Watch GroupLast FPA Watch Group minutes for the year 2016. -
Herausforderung Humanitäre Hilfe - Politische Bedeutung und kritische Reflexion in Deutschland
25 October 2016Members' publicationsDiakonie Katastrophenhilfe joined forces with Ärzte ohne Grenzen (Doctors Without Borders Germany) and Caritas International for a joint study into challenges for humanitarian action in Germany (in German, 2 page summary in English).The study, "Herausforderung Humanitare Hilfe - Politische Bedeutung und kritische Reflexion in Deutschland", comes to the conclusion that humanitarian aid is not discussed and reflected upon enough in German society and politics. NGOs have the potential of addressing the issues surrounding humanitarian aid and starting public discourse to encourage engagement. -
Joint CSO letter to UN Security Council on the situation in Yemen
19 October 2016Members' publications -
FPA WG meeting exchange with ECHO - 30 June 2016
10 August 2016FPA Watch Group -
Institutional Donor Conditionalities - Report on Sectoral Challenges
03 August 2016Members' publicationsNRC, in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, has conducted a 6 month internal study on Institutional donor requirements to to understand the totality of conditionalities put on humanitarian organisations, gauge and improve NRC's ability to manage them and define some key findings that could benefit the sector as a whole. In the report, NRC identifies four significant findings, or challenges, that they believe are generic to the entire sector - and that need to be addressed urgently. -
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In Search of Safety in Iraq
20 July 2016Members' publicationsAs the Iraqi army and coalition forces get closer in the military operation to retake Mosul, the humanitarian fallout is bound to be catastrophic unless funding and resources are prioritised to help up to 1.2 million civilians, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee warn. -
VOICE Out Loud 23: Humanitarian NGOs and the European 'refugee crisis'
19 July 2016VOICE out loud2015 was the year that put refugees and the movement of people back on the global and European agenda. Europe saw the biggest refugee flow since World War II, many crossing over from Turkey into Greece. They flee from ongoing armed conflicts and mass killings in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and South Sudan. So long as these conflicts are not resolved there is no end in sight to the refugee flow. Following border closures throughout Europe, increasing numbers of refugees are finding themselves stuck in Greece, which is under pressure to cope. Humanitarian NGOs are trying to support the efforts of local civil society and authorities to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Greece and elsewhere, but in a difficult political environment, are concerned about the humanitarian principles and maintaining standards.
Kicking off this issue, the Danish Refugee Council describe the difficulty of upholding humanitarian standards in the midst of this humanitarian crisis. Complementing the basic needs of people in open air refugee camps in Greece is a challenge which Secours Islamique France addresses in its article on needs assessment. The Doctors of the World International Network highlights the best and worst in the European crisis facing migrants. Looking at the humanitarian principles in the context of the Europe Refugee Response, the Norwegian Refugee Council compares operations before and after the EU-Turkey Deal. SOS Childrens Villages draws lessons from the Balkan Route with an eye on children’s protection in the European migration crisis.
In a View from Turkey, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe explains how it uses partnerships to support refugee protection and assistance in South-Eastern Turkey.
The View from the EU section contains an interview with Catherine Woollard, Secretary General of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. She shares her views on the EU’s response to the refugee crisis, the key issues with the EU-Turkey deal, and the recently adopted Communication on Forced Displacement and Development. We also hear from CARE on the additional challenge that humanitarian financing poses in this EU refugee crisis. -
NGO suggestions to Ms Schlein's opinion on report on financing for NGOs
18 July 2016Ms Elly Schlein MEP is preparing the DEVE opinion for the Committee on Budgetary Control on the report “Budgetary control of financing of NGOs from the EU budget”.
VOICE is pleased that the draft opinion reflects some of our messages from the Study on donors’ conditionalities including on the need to reduce the adminisrative burden on NGOs and increase flexibility. Together with other civil society representatives, suggestions to the opinion were proposed. Concretely it was stressed that there is no need for more controls on NGOs, and that NGOs must maintain a degree of independence from the EU including in the implementation of EU-funded projects. -
World Humanitarian Summit: outcomes and next steps for the EU
12 July 2016VOICE event reportsThis event brought together 77 participants from the humanitarian aid sector, many of which attended the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in Istanbul. In a panel discussion and subsequent discussion round, the main themes were the strength and weaknesses of the Summit, as well as emerging trends and next steps. -
GA resolution Humanitarian NGOs call for a better EU response to refugees and migrants
20 June 2016VOICE policy resolutionsVOICE 2016 General Assembly Resolution: Humanitarian NGOs call for a better EU response to refugees and migrants. -
'We all must act now!' joint NGO statement following the World Humanitarian summit
20 June 2016VOICE position papersThis statement is made by 6 national and international networks (Coordination SUD, ICVA, InterAction, NEAR, VENRO, VOICE) and is based on the declaration of Dr F. Sivignon, President of Médecins du Monde, at the Summit’s closing ceremony. -
Grand Bargain - A Shared Commitment to Better Serve People in Need
10 June 2016This is the final document of the Grand Bargain agreement between donors, the UN agencies and NGOs and the Red Cross on certain aspects of reducing the humanitarian financing gap.
