Causas que Extinguen la Acción Penal

Promoting complementarity

This chapter is concerned with managing effective interaction among the increasing and diverse humanitarian and human rights actors doing protection work in armed conflict and other situations of violence. It recognizes existing capacities, and acknowledges the varying approaches of protection actors to their work, and to complementing that of others. Its aim is to establish some minimum standards on complementarity, but by no means to propose a uniform approach to protection work. Enhanced synergies among protection activities of various humanitarian and human rights protection actors can help optimize the benefits for the populations at risk. Seeking such synergies can also serve to minimize gaps, potential overlaps and duplication, and avoid situations where the activities of one actor disrupt or undermine those of another. However, enhancing synergies should never jeopardize the character of any of the protection actors involved. It requires an awareness of others, taking care to respect and maintain distinctive characteristics, to preserve varying identities and principles, and to avoid blurring the individual responsibilities of each protection actor for the safety of the populations, and the use of information collected.

As illustrated below, complementary action can take several forms.

Forms of complementary action

• Co-existence

When active cooperation among various actors is neither appropriate nor feasible, interactions focus on minimizing competition and conflict, to enable the actors to work in the same geographical area, with the same population, or on the same issues, with minimum mutual disruption.

• Coordination

Dialogue and interaction among various actors serve to preserve and promote distinct characteristics or principles, to avoid competition, to minimize inconsistency, and when appropriate, to pursue common goals. Coordination is a shared responsibility, facilitated by liaison and common training.

• Cooperation or collaboration

Joint work among various actors for a common purpose or benefit may include joint analysis and action. It does not necessarily signify common activities, nor any merger of identities or characteristics, but rather some form of working together to achieve a common goal.

• Contractual partnership

A more formal and legally constraining form of cooperation usually takes the form of a contract between organizations, that agree to contribute property, knowledge or activities to a given task. The contract defines the legal obligations and expectations of each partner, and often covers issues such as the transfer of financial resources and the secondment of personnel.1

Professional standards for Protection Work

Establishing effective complementarity among the wide range of humanitarian and human rights actors doing protection work is rarely easy. While they share similar objectives with respect to protection – seeking to obtain “full respect for the rights of the individual” 2 _{– they also have varying identities, mandates, priorities, approaches} and activities that may impede working closely with others.

Organizations that subscribe to the principles of neutrality and independence as a means to gain access to all communities and actors in armed conflict and other situations of violence, will be especially concerned to maintain their distinct identities. This constraint can limit the degree to which they are able to engage in formal, sector- wide coordination structures, such as the Protection Cluster. However, it does not limit their ability to coordinate on specific issues, such as tracing unaccompanied minors, or establishing lists of missing persons following a crisis that caused flight.

Other characteristics can affect interaction: actors may be faith-based, secular, national, or international; their mandates may be rooted in IHL, IHRL or IRL; their priorities (refugees, children, IDPs, etc.), and geographical interests can vary. These various factors influence the interest and ability of each protection actor to coordinate with others, and complicate the task of finding common approaches and working methods. Disparities in capacity, resources, or even distance between locations can present additional challenges to complementary action.

Such differences are, however, often the very reason why complementary action is needed. The multi-faceted nature of crises typically demands a variety of solutions. The multiplicity of humanitarian and human rights protection actors and their diversity of approaches is thus an asset. Because protection actors work in different geographical locations and with different portions of the population at risk, their combined efforts can increase the scale and impact of the response.

Cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity means that local organizations may, in some circumstances, be better placed to obtain results. In others, international actors may hold more sway.

To achieve better results through increased consistency and coherence among diverse protection activities, given the disparity of tactics or modes of actions they may use in their respective environments, demands a conscious effort aimed at more effective interface. One example is that of a confidential dialogue to persuade primary duty bearers to fulfil their protection responsibilities that can sometimes be reinforced by public reports on the humanitarian consequences of their shortfalls. In other instances, a range of different actors raising similar concerns, or taking similar action simultaneously, can create the same multiplying effect.

Thematic collaboration among selected actors is frequent, such as interagency cooperation on DDR. Protection actors may also decide to participate, or not, in more general coordination structures such as the Protection Cluster, or its working groups, such as the one on gender-based violence, or on the rule of law and justice.

71 promotInG complEmEntArItY

give preference to liaising on a bilateral rather than collective basis, in the interest of preserving its confidential dialogue with arms carriers and authorities.