Concept Note - Session 3: Global Protection Forum

The Protection of Civilians in situations of armed conflict remains ever-more pressing during this time of increasing conflict and violence globally. Locally-led efforts and interventions to shield civilians from the worst harms associated with conflict often represent the first—and sometimes most effective—approach. Local actors and community networks bring distinct advantages to these efforts: their presence, proximity, access, trust, credibility, flexibility, and accountability allow them to adapt quickly to changing conflict dynamics, the shifting positions and interests of armed groups, and the unique capacities and agency of communities.

Despite growing interest in the role of local actors in preventing and reducing violence against civilians, there remains limited, fragmented understanding of how best to support, enhance and scale their impact. Various efforts to more systematically learn from locally led approaches to the protection of civilians have been underway over the past several years.

This event aims to be a further contribution to such learnings by convening a diverse panel to discuss their experiences supporting and learning from local protection efforts in real-time across various conflict contexts, including Somalia, Ukraine, Mozambique, DRC and Chad. The speakers will explore how local actors are approaching complex and often high-risk protection interventions in situations of armed conflict, address the limits, dilemmas and challenges they face and identify ways that other protection actors and allies can better support and contribute to strengthening these critical local efforts.