A) Objetivos de la promesa
Pledge objectives
The objective of this pledge is to strengthen the commitment of members of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and their Auxiliary partners, to actions which demonstrably lead to better localisation. While this pledge draws on lessons learned by Pacific National Societies and their partners in recent years, its objective is to encourage fellow humanitarian actors to deliver on specific localization commitments by offering tangible, evidence-based action points for strengthening locally-led action. The pledge is linked to Commission III of the 34th International Conference, entitled “Enabling sustainable, locally-led action” and further reinforces the implementation of “ Resolution 4: Empowering local leadership, capacity and delivery in principled humanitarian action and strengthening resilience”.
Through the Grand Bargain[1], major donors and aid agencies have committed to strengthening localization through shifting resources to local and National responders, to strengthening their capabilities, to harmonizing accountability requirements and to ensuring local voices and perspectives are central to both partnerships and humanitarian action. This pledge seeks to confirm these commitments and what is more – being led by National Societies of Large Ocean/Small Island States- seeks to provide ways in which key actions translate into authentic and measurable demonstrations of these commitments to local actors themselves. Since the development of the Grand Bargain, while the policy discourse has evolved into a locally-led action agenda, which aims to enhance the power and agency of affected people and local actors, in practice, global progress – on commitments such as flexible, multi-year funding, authentic local leadership and decision-making and reduced burdens of reporting- remain slow.
As key humanitarian actors within their countries, Pacific National Societies have been dedicated to working collaboratively with partners to tackle the complex challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent and have been testing ways in which Grand Bargain commitments can be implemented – strengthening the ability of National Societies to play their critical mandated roles. One such example of this collective approach has been the Core Costs and Financial Sustainability Initiative (CCFS) – an impactful partnership approach providing multi-year, flexible funding for the coverage of core costs. The Initiative also exemplifies Grand Bargain commitments through the utilisation of locally relevant reporting mechanisms and capability strengthening, through peer networks focused on strategic financial management and resource mobilization. Case Studies of the initiative demonstrate some of the ways in which CCFS has directly supported National Societies in their efforts as local humanitarian actors, including strengthened collective impact models of coordination and collaboration between National Societies and their partners in the sub-region. Drawing on this experience, Pacific leaders call on members of the International Conference to commit to investing in long-term, equitable partnerships that include quality funding and collaborative risk-sharing approaches. Such commitments will help strengthen local leadership, systems, and infrastructure, ultimately enhancing support for communities.
[1] The Grand Bargain is a set of commitments by a group of major donors and aid agencies at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 ‘to make aid as local as possible, as international as necessary.’ As agreed by Grand Bargain signatories, local and national actors are defined as : (1) local and national non-state actors – organizations engaged in relief that are headquartered and operating in their own aid recipient country and which are not affiliated to an international NGO; (2) national and sub national state actors – State authorities of the affected aid recipient country engaged in relief, whether at local or national level https://gblocalisation.ifrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/categories_for_tracking_direct_as_possible_funding_to_local_and_national_actors_003.pdf
B) Plan de acción
Action plan
To achieve the objective of strengthening the commitment of members of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and their Auxiliary partners, to actions which demonstrably lead to better localisation, signatory governments and National Societies pledge to do one or more of the following:
Empowering local leadership through equitable partnerships
· Invest in longer-term strategic partnerships and relationships that are grounded in genuine equity, mutual respect, transparency, trust, shared responsibility and accountability with Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies and other local actors to ensure they benefit from our presence and support.
· Support, promote and create space for local actors’ meaningful representation and leadership in key humanitarian decision making and coordination mechanisms
· Reorient the way we partner to ensure that the voice of people in vulnerable situations are heard at local, national, regional and global levels through humanitarian diplomacy, particularly by increasingly using local languages, organizing meetings at community levels, and if needed, working alongside local actors to fulfil leadership roles
Long-term, flexible funding aligned with local actor priorities
· Increased investment in dedicated, multi-year, unearmarked funding, including a reasonable share of overhead costs in all project/programme funding to local actors, aligned with local priorities to ensure sustainability and capacity strengthening.
· Adopt funding modalities that support as direct as possible funding to local actors and work towards minimising the administrative burden to local actors around these.
Simplified reporting and effective risk sharing
· Review due diligence and compliance requirements while supporting integrity and accountability through simplified and harmonised, common reporting requirements and capacity-building measures that enable local actors to report their impact in locally relevant ways.
· Collaborate on integrating a risk-sharing approach through fostering equitable dialogue and jointly agreed measures that ensure the balanced distribution of risks, ultimately enhancing support to communities.
C) Indicadores para medir los avances:
Indications for measuring progress
· Number of strategic or long-term funded partnerships with local actors
· Number of partnership dialogues, consultations, reviews, planning meetings, etc with local actors
· Number of local actors represented in programme/project steering committees, with demonstrated participation in planning and decision-making
· Percentage of multi-year funding disbursed to local actors
· % of flexible funding for local actors’ overhead costs/indirect allowances
· Quantity and quality of investment for local actors’ long-term capacity strengthening
· Mission statements, recruitment and staff orientation guidelines, partnership policies, programme design, transparency and feedback mechanisms and reporting protocols that support and contribute to locally-led action objectives
· Number, nature and result of collaborations around integrating risk sharing approach in humanitarian programming.
D) Recursos requeridos:
Resource implications
States and National Societies will determine the resources that may be required to implement this pledge based on the actions to be taken in their specific context.
A genuine commitment in promoting collaboration and open dialogue among local actors, intermediaries and donors will help foster trust, identify and address risks and build stronger partnerships. These efforts, requiring time and resources, are essential for achieving sustainable, locally-led humanitarian outcomes.
