New Report: Local protection mechanisms and humanitarian response in the Liptako-Gourma Region

The report is the result of a two-year research project (2020-2022), which was carried out in the Liptako-Gourma region, or the triborder area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Since 2015, this region has been the epicentre of the Sahel crisis, characterised by a continuously deteriorating security situation.

This research conducted by SIPRI, DRC and their local partners aims to study the effectiveness of humanitarian protection programmes in the Liptako-Gourma region, and, in particular, the local protection systems and the links between local protection mechanisms and humanitarian protection mechanisms.

The objective of this action research is to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian protection programmes and their integration or complementarity with local protection systems. It is based on empirical data, both qualitative and quantitative, collected in Burkina Faso (Nord and Sahel regions), Mali (Mopti region) and Niger (Tillabéri region), during two research phases in August-September 2020 and June-July 2021.

The main problems:

• Unemployment, lack of economic opportunities as well as difficulties in accessing water and food are among the main economic and governance problems.
• Attacks by armed groups against the means of production (looting of fields, theft of livestock, limited access to markets) increase the vulnerability of the local population.
• The security situation has deteriorated in a year, further restricting people’s freedom of movement, which limits their travel and production activities.
• Structural poverty is a decisive factor in the involvement of young people in non-state armed groups.
• Increased economic vulnerability: the duration of the crisis has a significant impact on the reception of displaced persons. In one year, fatigue has become very noticeable among both host communities and displaced communities. The pressure on livelihoods, which was already a concern in 2020, has increased.
• Poor governance, whether political, economic, social or legal, is seen as having contributed to the outbreak and persistence of the crisis.

Protection mechanisms:

• Every displacement triggers a chain of solidarity, at first traditional. The initial protection is family and friends/neighbours, and primarily covers security and physical protection.
• Protection mechanisms can be community-based or state-based
• Local protection mechanisms are considered effective by the populations and are their preferred option. Traditional and customary authorities play a fundamental role in the reception and settlement of displaced persons. However, the crisis is weakening community mechanisms for regulating social relations.
• Assistance from families or communities usually precedes that from the state and NGOs.
• Humanitarian protection mechanisms are seen as effective and complementary local systems and respectful of local cultural codes.
• Coordination of aid poses a problem, particularly between the states and the humanitarian organisations.
• The protracted nature of the crisis has significant consequences both for the aspirations of internally displaced people (IDPs) (in particular, in terms of housing and employment) and the capacities of host communities, sometimes weakening relations between communities.
• The support given to host communities does not compensate for the assistance provided to the people hosted.
• People report a lack of communication and poor coordination between NGOs.

The reports are available in English and French.