Community-based child

CHILD PROTECTION ISSUE BRIEF

protection mechanisms
The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that parents, as well as families and communities
“have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child” and “States Parties
shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-
rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the
care of children.” (Article 18). However, in times of humanitarian crisis and displacement, the capacity of
communities and parents is often undermined as children face new and exacerbated protection risks such
as family separation, abuse and exploitation and recruitment into armed forces and groups. In order to
mitigate those risks, it is important that humanitarian actors support and strengthen the protective capacity
of families and communities, who are the first point of call and primary duty-bearers when it comes to the
protection of vulnerable children. The active involvement of communities in the protection of children is a
key principle of action for UNHCR and is reiterated in the Framework for the Protection of Children.

Grounded in the actual and potential capacity of all communities, community-based protection assists
refugees and internally displaced persons to protect their security, secure their rights, and take or recover
control over their lives.”
Understanding Community-Based Protection, UNHCR 2013

Key messages
Ü Families and communities have the primary responsibility for the protection of children of concern.
Ü The involvement of the community in the identification of child protection issues and design and
implementation of activities will ultimately lead to better acceptance and greater impact of child
protection interventions.
Ü Involving the community will enable interventions to reach more children because resources are
used more effectively.
Ü The active participation of the community in the protection of children will guarantee sustainability
of the actions undertaken.
Ü Strengthening the engagement of communities in the protection and care of their children will support
refugees to realize greater self-reliance and dignity.

This briefing note has been produced by the Child Protection Unit, Division of International Protection,
in order to guide field operations on key thematic child protection issues.
Key Concepts Community-based child protection groups may be
involved in:
• Identification of protection concerns and
COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH: “A community-
vulnerable children
based approach is a way of working in partnership
with persons of concern during all stages of UNHCR’s • Awareness raising on child rights and child protection
programme cycle. It recognizes the resilience,
• Referral and accompaniment of children and their
capacities, skills and resources of persons of concern,
families to appropriate services
builds on these to deliver protection and solutions, and
supports the community’s own goals” (UNHCR 2008). • Provision of psychosocial, emotional and spiritual
support to vulnerable children

COMMUNITY-BASED CHILD PROTECTION • Promoting birth registration

MECHANISM: A community-based child protection • Identification of children at “heightened” risk
mechanism (CBCPM) is a network or group of
individuals at community level who work in a • Informal tracing
coordinated way toward child protection goals. These • Alternative care or foster parent groups
mechanisms can take the form of a focal point or a
group or network of community members with a role in • Dispute resolution and mediation
child protection (social workers, teachers, health staff, (such as family or custody issues)
parents, elders, and other volunteers). • Informing communities of services
• Life skills and good-parenting skills programmes
CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH GROUPS: Children’s and
adolescent groups are part of community-based child
protection mechanisms and enable children themselves
to play an integral role in their own protection.
Good Practices
WHAT DO COMMUNITY-BASED CHILD • Promote community ownership and do
PROTECTION GROUPS LOOK LIKE? not impose external models or views (unless
community’s views are contrary to international
Community-based mechanisms include a mixture of human rights standards).
“exogenous” or outside actors and influences and
“endogenous” or internal or traditional actors and • Ensure members of community-based mechanisms
influences. Increasingly, the importance of working understand and apply the principle of best interests
through local community structures and traditional or of the child in all initiatives they undertake.
informal processes is recognized.
• Be aware of and sensitive to power and social
These mechanisms can be set up in different ways, dynamics within communities of concern and how
depending on the analysis of the context: they impact functioning of community-based groups.
Œ Direct implementation by agency (Externally driven • Do not offer payment so as to avoid undermining
and managed by aid agencies) genuine volunteerism.
 Community involvement in agency initiative (initiative • Try to optimize resources and support
is driven by agency)
communities to also use their own resources.
Ž Community-owned and managed activities • Support groups with equipment and tools for
mobilized by external agency (higher level of
community ownership with external agency support) their work such as ID cards, t-shirts, rubber boots,
torches, letter of introduction.
 Community-owned and managed activities initiated • Recognize work of the group through provision of
from within the community. (See Benham 2008
typology). certificates, annual celebrations, or volunteer of the
year awards.

WHAT DO COMMUNITY-BASED CHILD • Ensure CBCPMs have a clear mandate with a

PROTECTION MECHANISMS DO? realistic set of functions.
Community-based child protection groups typically • Ensure groups understand their own limits by
play different roles depending on the context and training them well on which types of complex cases
existing community capacities. Some child protection need to be referred and how to uphold confidentiality
committees focus on child protection or child welfare and data sharing protocols.
issues more broadly whereas others have a more
narrow focus, such as supporting and monitoring • Ensure that group members are perceived as a
unaccompanied children or working to combat child support mechanism for the community and not
trafficking. as having a “policing” function.
Key actions: What UNHCR and partners can do
Legal & Policy Framework Human & Financial Capacity
Ü Ensure CBCP groups are appropriately trained and Ü Support the selection of volunteers through a
aware of the child protection legal framework in transparent recruitment process, taking into account
the country of operation. the community’s own criteria of selection of child
protection volunteers and the views of children.
Ü Establish and develop Standards Operating
Procedures (SOPs) that include a description of the Ü Assess gaps in competency and develop and
role of CBCPMs in all activities undertaken by implement a training plan, that includes do no harm
UNHCR and partners. and child safeguarding.
Ü Explore how children and youth groups can safely
Knowledge & Data engage and link with CBCPMs
Ü Map already existing community structures and Ü Agencies supporting CBCPM need to have sufficient
mechanisms that contribute to protecting children of capacity to monitor and coach groups.
concern.
Ü Involve community mechanisms to set up their own Prevention & Response
indicators and benchmarks related to the
protection of children of concern. Ü Engage both refugee and host community in
discussions regarding child protection violations and
Ü Carry out baseline survey and assess the seek their perspectives on solutions.
functioning of community groups (scope of work,
children reached, quality of outreach, etc.). Ü Consult with children and adolescents about
planning and implementation of CBCP group
activities.
Currently, the child protection sector is researching Ü Guide the groups to develop Terms of Reference
ways to build a stronger evidence-based (endorsed by communities and key officials if
approach to show the impact of community groups possible) and an action plan.
on the protection of children. At times, mechanisms
are set up unilaterally by agencies or other external
Ü Accountability: Establish a feedback mechanism so
that children and the community can report on the
actors, whereas other mechanisms are initiated and
functioning of the CP group.
led by the community. Emerging lessons show that
community-based approaches need to be adapted Ü Sustainability: Develop an exit strategy to ensure a
specifically to the context and should ideally be the smooth transition towards community ownership of
result of a community-driven process. the initiative.

Advocacy & Awareness

Coordination
Ü Support groups in developing results-oriented
Ü Link and create coordination and referral awareness strategies that will aim to change social
mechanisms with other service providers, ensuring norms and practices that are harmful for children.
mechanisms are connected with other sectors such
as health, education, justice and law enforcement Ü Support CBCPMs to identify allies and key figures
within the community who they can rely on to make
entities to ensure a holistic response.
a change in their area of work (e.g. key role models,
Ü Promote linkages between the informal CBCPMs and parents, young people, elders and leaders etc.).
the formal national child protection system, including
at district levels.
Ü Collaborate and coordinate with other community
groups that work on related areas (e.g. supporting
Ü Explore linkages and potential areas of cooperation persons with disabilities or SGBV prevention and
between schools, teachers and CBCPMs. response including children).

HOW DO COMMUNITY MECHANISMS FIT WITHIN NATIONAL SYSTEMS?

A distinction is often made between the formal elements of the system, such as government-led police family units,
local courts, children’s offices and social workers (which are not always accessible to refugee, displaced and state-
less children) and the less formal or informal mechanisms that still have a role to play in child protection such as
CBOs, mothers’ groups, kinship networks, religious structures and other traditional mechanisms for protecting children.
However, current evaluations and research show that there is too often a disconnect between the informal and formal
elements of national child protection systems. It is essential that the two levels collaborate and that the central govern-
ment body dedicated to child welfare is equipped and resourced to also address issues and violations against children
in situations of displacement. CBCPM are an essential component of the overall child protection system; UNHCR
works to strengthen community-based mechanisms as well as the wider national system.
UNHCR in Action: Examples from the Field
Rwanda Cairo, Egypt
In Rwanda, child protection committees (CPCs) have In urban Cairo, Egypt, UNHCR’s partner runs a youth
been established in refugee camps. These CPCs mirror group for young people from many different refugee
an already existing nation-wide model of community- and asylum seeking communities (as well as some
based child protection networks in Rwanda. Members members of the host community) living in the area.
of the CPC are individuals from the refugee community Members of the youth group identified education as
who have agreed to commit to work towards the safety an issue of concern to them. As a result 45 young
and well-being of children in the camp on a volunteer people decided to conduct their own research on
basis. The volunteers of the Ishuri Inshuti Z’Abana the challenges faced by refugee and asylum seeking
(“Friendly school for children”) section of the CPC are all young people in education in different areas of Cairo.
adult women who provide children between 3 to 4 years The group became young researchers, carrying out
old with early childhood development. The members of qualitative interviews with fellow students, teachers,
the Abarengerabana (“protectors of children”) section community leaders and other significant adults. They
play an important role in the sensitization and reporting attended training workshops on data analysis, pulling
in their assigned area of intervention. They are also the information together and then completed a report on
responsible for advocating for the protection of children the process. They also produced a short documentary
in the camp. The members of the Nkundabana (“I love film to highlight the process and the issues. This report,
children”) section are selected to become mentors “Future researchers: Children’s Dreams for a Better
for children, in particular for children at risk (UASC). Education” was then used as one of the resources
They monitor children at risk and report back. There to inform UNHCR’s child protection and education
is a fourth group, Ijwi ry’Abana (“Voice of Children”) strategies. Members of the youth group also regularly
composed of children who advocate on child rights – to attend and contribute to the Inter-agency Education
ensure that children’s ideas are integrated into camp Working Group.
activities.

Girls and boys are protected from abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect through
community-based mechanisms and processes.”
Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian
Action Standard 16: Community-based mechanisms

For More Information:

èC
 ommunity Child Protection Exchange Forum: è ARC training pack on community mobilization,
www.childprotectionforum.org available at: http://goo.gl/san8yE
è Benham, 2008. Agencies, communities and children, è Save the Children, 2010. Strengthening National Child
A Report of the Interagency Learning Initiative: Engaging Protection Systems in Emergencies through Community-
Communities for Children’s Well-Being. Based Mechanisms: A Discussion Paper,
Available at: http://goo.gl/5JjiIs available at: http://goo.gl/fB6uJD
è UNHCR 2001. ExCom Conclusion 15 February 2001: è Wessels, Mike, 2009. What are we learning about
Reinforcing a Community Development Approach, protecting children in the community?
available at: http://goo.gl/IY4H2X Available at: http://goo.gl/fm476d
è UNHCR 2008. A Community-based Approach in UNHCR è Save the Children, 2007. Children at the centre, a guide
operations, available at http://goo.gl/d7Qwk7 to supporting community groups caring for vulnerable
children. Available at http://goo.gl/0ok0uN
è UNHCR 2010. UNHCR and Community Development: a
weak link in the chain of refugee protection? è Save the Children Alliance, 2008. A common responsibility:
Available at: http://goo.gl/Q1pYsD The role of community-based child protection groups in
protection children from sexual abuse and exploitation,
è UNHCR 2013. Understanding Community-based
available at: http://goo.gl/Mb6OvN
Protection, available at: http://goo.gl/EOxNko
è Inter-agency learning initiative, 2012. Lessons Learned:
è CPWG, 2012. Minimum Standards for Child Protection in
Conducting Research on Community Based Child
Humanitarian Action, available at: http://goo.gl/6A1OOj
Protection Mechanisms, available at http://goo.gl/PVKTRr

UNHCR Geneva, September 2013