Ashley Jackson presented findings from a research project case study on Afghanistan, "Humanitarian negotiations with non-state actors", focused on humanitarian dialogue in Faryab and Kandaha.
Issues discussed include:
How do various humanitarian actors engage with armed opposition groups (AOG)? For what aims, and are these aims clearly articulated and understood by negotiators? What are the parameters, obstacles and enabling factors that govern this engagement? What motivates AOG to engage, or not engage, with agencies seeking to provide protection and assistance? What are their understandings of and attitudes toward various types of assistance, various types of agencies and their core values (i.e. humanitarian principles, IHL, human rights)? What approaches have worked best to secure access to provide assistance and protection to vulnerable populations? How do humanitarian actors seek to coordinate or collaborate in such efforts? What is the role of the UN or NGO coordination bodies? Are there ‘successes’ or lessons learned that could be used or widely applied to help improve agency approaches to negotiations in the future? Are there common factors or approaches that can be seen as ‘best practices’?
