Protection

Protection of conflict- and displacement-affected people

The aim of Protection is to ensure that conflict- and displacement-affected people enjoy their human rights and have no displacement-related protection needs.

Defining “Protection”

Protection encompasses: “All activities aimed at ensuring full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law, i.e. human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law.”

In practice, protection interventions aim to protect conflict- and displacement-affected people and communities from violence and / or the fear of violence, coercion and deliberate deprivation.

A positive outcome from a protection intervention results in a reduction of protection risks for affected persons and communities, including decreasing threats they are exposed to, reducing their vulnerabilities, and increasing their capacities for self-protection. This is achieved through changes in behaviour, attitudes,  knowledge, policies and practices on the part of relevant stakeholders.

3 dimensions of Protection

Protection is a multi-faceted concept. Protection is:

• An overall goal of DRC's work 
• A legal responsibility
• A sector with sub-components and activities

Protection sector components

DRC’s Protection sector consists of the following components:

• Protection Information Management (PIM)
• Child Protection (CP)
• Community-Based Protection (CBP)
• Prevention of and response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV)
• Legal Aid
• Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS)
• Support to Protection Coordination (Co-Coordination / Co-Leadership)

While a responsibility for all staff and sectors, the Protection sector is responsible for promoting and driving DRC’s efforts on:

• Protection Mainstreaming
• Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming