GPPi discusses humanitarian access at workshop in Istanbul

On 22 October 2013, GPPi’s Urban Reichhold contributed to a thematic workshop on humanitarian access in Istanbul. The event was organized by Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP), an association of practitioners and individuals engaged in humanitarian policy and research.

In many of the world’s most violent conflicts, humanitarian actors struggle to reach out to civilian populations. In light of these challenges, the two-day workshop provided practitioners with practical guidance and relevant legal concepts for humanitarian access in situations of armed conflict.

In his presentation, Reichhold examined existing empirical data on access trends, looking at both physical attacks against humanitarian workers and other access barriers, such as visa and travel restrictions imposed by governments. Drawing on evidence collected as part of an earlier assessment of ECHO-funded access strategies, he discussed different operational approaches aimed at delivering aid in highly insecure contexts. This included a critical review of the ongoing nationalization within the humanitarian sector. While recognizing the benefits of creating national ownership, Reichhold drew attention to the risks and limits of increasingly localized operations, including for humanitarian protection efforts.