Report on the Onsite Training on Frontline Access Negotiation for Humanitarian Access
CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION
Functioning as Civil Society Organizations and most importantly as Humanitarians in the context of the current socio-political dispensation has proven to be a difficulty in the North West Region of Cameroon. Meeting the needs of our targeted population (IDPs and the Vulnerable) has been compromised by several challenges.
Mindful of the fact that we need to operate within the ambit of humanitarian principles, while ensuring smooth access negotiations, the management of ASDEPCO deemed it necessary to approach the Center of Competence for Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN) for an on-site training on Frontline Access Negotiation for Humanitarian Access. Considering the effects of the crisis in the region and on the functioning of NGOs, ASDEPCO invited other civil society Organizations and humanitarian actors to be part of this training in order to enhance their capacities as far as access to the vulnerable is concerned in the context of this crisis situation.
Commencement of the Training
Cognizant to an invitation letter to various individuals and organizations, the training was held on the 26th and 27th of May 2023, from 9:00am in the ASDEPCO head office located at Mile II Junction, First Off Liscence before K-Town Junction, Bamenda. In attendance were the following
- The Facilitator from the Center of Competence for Humanitarian Negotiations (CCHN)
- Representatives from Hope Social Union for the Visually Impaired (HSUVI)
- Representatives from the Organization For Health Awareness, Community Empowerment And Social Integration (OHACESIN) and
- Members of the ASDEPCO Board as well as ASDEPCO Staff
Day One of the Training - Friday, May 26, 2023
Scheduled to begin at 9am, the training kicked started with a word of Prayer from Mr Chi Emmanuel, representative from OHACESIN.
Welcome Address from the CEO-ASDEPCO
The CEO of ASDEPCO welcomed all for their personal attendance. In his word, he thanked all participants for making it to the much needed training. He appreciated the facilitator and made everyone comfortable. He went further to introduce the organizations and persons in attendance wherein he introduced Mr Karyuh Bienvenue Shey, the CCHN onsite Trainer. Without much ado, the CEO declared the training officially opened and gave the floor to the facilitator.
The Session 1 proper
The session started with the facilitator briefing the audience on the basic principles of Humanitarian Law under which we have the principles of Impartiality, Neutrality and no use of force. From the basic introduction, we dived into the core of the day which was Humanitarian Access and Negotiation. Under the main heading the first thing to understand was FACTS and NORMS as far as negotiations are concerned.
The Objectives for this session were
- Setting the negotiation Process within a given context
- Clarifying the relevant fact both parties can agree on
- Identifying believes and norms that may affect the negotiation process
FACTS
As far as negotiations are concerned, it was stated that facts constitute the following
- Elements that are known to have happened, to exist and to be true
- Observable elements about which information information (Including proof( can be gathered
- Something one can investigate, touch, feel, count, see, provide physical evidence
- And lastly it was established that facts can usually be proven
NORMS
Norms on the other hand were seen to be generally accepted behaviors or perceptions. It constitutes a way of behaving that is considered normal within a particular group. It could be a culture of a particular society, or a desired behavior that the people in that group believe in.
It was established that in commencing Humanitarian and Access Negotiations, there are situations where facts and norms will be disagreed and contested upon respectively. After identifying the facts it was stipulated that it is necessary to take steps towards drawing an island of Agreements for negotiation to be successful. To begin negotiations it is necessary to
- Note points to be clarified with actual facts (Contested Facts)
- Note points where you and your counterpart agree in order to starts the negotiations wit such points (Agreed Facts)
- Note points to be agreed upon as convergent values (Convergent Norms)
- Lastly Points of divergence on norms to be negotiated
STEPS FOR CONTEXT ANALYSIS IN NEGOTIATING ACCESS
Step 1: Gather Quality Information
- What are the issues?
- What are the relevant elements of information?
Step 2: Sort the facts from the Norms
- What are the facts of the situation
- What are the norms and the believes affecting the respective positions of the parties?
Step 3: Identify the areas of agreement
- What are the agreed vs contested facts
- What are the convergent and divergent norms
- Will the negotiations follow a normative or factual path
Conclusively lessons taken from the session were that
- Humanitarian Negotiations take place in a politically-charged environment of tensions, disagreements and power struggles.
- It is relevant to be able to identify the relevant facts and norms, and further distingich the agreed and contested facts as well as convergent and divergent norms
The objective is to limit tensions and disagreements and orient conversations.
Session 2 Day 1
TYPOLOGY OF NEGOTIATIONS
In this lesson we saw that negotiations could either be Political, professional or technical
- Under the political negotiations, the issues at stake include questions like Who are you, Why are you here. It has to do with identity, values, principles and norms
- The Professional negotiation answers questions like How will you work? It has to do with method, standard and operating procedures
- The technical negotiations deal with questions like what will you do? When, where and with whom. Modalities of the specific Operation
The steps to follow during negotiations as far as typology is involved include
Step 1: Identifythe type of negotiation
- What questions is the counterpart asking and what are the issues at stake?
- What is the type of negotiation
Step 2: Elaborate the Narrative
- What demands do we have and how should we formulate them
- What is the space for compromise
Step 3: Gain control over the type of negotiation
- What typ of negotiation should we engage in optimally
- What questions and answers should we prepare at that level
- How can I argue to move the discussion to that level?
The Key lessons for this session
- Humanitarian negotiation is essentially about building trust
- Engage at the level where you will exert more influence
- Adapt the negotiation tactic and narrative and choose the team members accordingly
This session ended with a practical work shop where the audience was divided into two, to examine the case scenario and identify the facts and norms
Session 3 Day 1
After the second session, the team had a launch break after which the third session commenced. The third session was more of a practical session. Session 3
STAKEHOLDER MAPPING PROCESS
The objective of the session was to
- Identify and map the actors involved in a negotiation
- Identify relationships of influence between actors and the counterpart
- Design tactical options to engage with influential actors
- Impact upon our counterpart and get him/her to move his/her position towards ours
In order to begin a stakeholder mapping process, there are some steps to follow.
STEP 1: Build the map and
STEP 2: Identify our target in the center of the map and map the key actors involved in the context
STEP 3: Identify relationships of influence between actors, and on the counterpart
Step 4: Leverage our influence with 4 tactics of engagement Nature of the Mapping with the target counterpart at the center, surrounded by various channels through which he/she can be contacted to leverage
Key Lessons from the Session
- Analyze the political environment and power relationships around our counterparts
- The mapping will help usdecide whom we should tak to and with which tactics
- The Four Engagement Tactics are
- Creating alliance with actors in the same quadrant than us
- Cooperating with other transformative actors
- creating alliances with global/conservative actors
- mitigating the influence of spoilers
The center of the map is the ideal point of equilibrium for the counterpart. To make them move towards us, we need to create space where they can safely move.
The session ended with a practical workshop where the groups were split into two
Day 2- Saturday 27th of May 2023
Day two started with a word of prayer from Mr. Frankline after which we went straight into the business of the day. Emphasizing on the legitimacy of negotiations, the facilitator reiterated on the following
- Institutional mission, objectives and reputation should strive to build good relationships
- The Institution should have competence in the specific topic/context and have a good understanding of the subject matter
- In operations the organization should be capable of managing age, gender, cultural, religious and ethnicity differences in the negotiations
Practical Session
Literally, day 2 was more of a practical session where the lessons taught on day one were put into practice. The audience was divided into two and a case scenario was given which was to be examined by the two groups and a negotiation approach was taken in order to reach the main target. The essence of this practical part was to assess the level of understanding of the audience as far as humanitarian access and negotiations is concerned in conflict situations.
Case Scenario for Practical work Session
Upon presentation of the scenario, the following assignment was given
You and your group are the PHAS team in charge of preparing and executing this negotiation. You will need to facilitate the search of practical solutions with your counterpart, away from dogmatic principles. You might need before entering real negotiations, to build a relationship with the General and try to better understand the role of intertribal connections at the regional level as a source of leverage.
You have 1.5 hour to prepare the negotiation by applying the different tools you have been presented with during the workshop – or any other you want! in order to propose your position to General Wallis and reach an agreement.
You will then have a first encounter of max. 20 minutes your counterpart in order to reach an
agreement. You may wish to organise a second encounter with the General, of max. 20,minutes. You are free to assign roles within you group as you see fit (e.g. negotiator(s), technical experts, etc.). When the time runs out, the negotiation is over and the results will be presented and discussed in plenary.
Group one focus group in practical session to negotiate access in a case scenario
The case scenario practically took the entire day, upon which after the presentation of the outcome and strategies by various groups, the training came to an end. The training came to an end with closing remarks from the various organizations represented as well as the board representative of ASDEPCO.
