United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Oct 2023
InterWorks facilitated an Essentials of Humanitarian Negotiation (EHN) online workshop from 9-12 October 2023. Participants came from Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand and Turkmenistan.
The EHN online workshop was designed to increase overall emergency response capacity in the region by improving participants’ understanding of humanitarian negotiation basics, and increasing their ability and confidence to use them in real-life applications.
The workshop included multiple opportunities for participants to practice collaborative negotiation skills such as asking questions, listening, generating solutions and finding win-win solutions to negotiation challenges. It also included sessions on the centrality of protection and negotiating with non-state armed groups to highlight the importance of humanitarian principles and international legal frameworks as critical components of the “interests” of humanitarian negotiators.
The workshop as a whole was outstanding, and all the materials covered were highly applicable to our work and projects. The facilitators demonstrated a strong command of their respective fields. We extend our gratitude to all the facilitators for their invaluable sessions and expertise, as well as to UNHCR for affording us the chance to enhance our skills and knowledge.
– Workshop participant