Partnership in Action (PARinAC)

Created at a 1994 Oslo conference in the context of increased humanitarian and protection needs, the Partnership in Action programme established a framework for cooperation between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world with whom it works. The conference developed a broad plan of action consisting of over 130 recommendations in areas including refugee protection, internally displaced persons and emergency preparedness.

The Partnership in Action process underwent an extensive review in 2000 in an effort to revitalize the dialogue between UNHCR and its NGO partners. A report issued in February of that year made recommendations for strengthening the partnership at the national and local levels through yearly regional meetings. Other recommendations included ways in which the Partnership in Action process could help local NGOs build their capacities and how it could be used in the coordination of refugee emergencies.

Since its founding, Partnership in Action has come to refer to all the activities in which UNHCR and NGOs are involved together. But the ambitious plan, which created high expectations in the NGO community, has at times proved difficult to manage and to put into operation. From the outset, the perceptions of NGOs and UNHCR often differed, and communication problems remain between UNHCR and the NGOs and between NGOs themselves. While the programme has contributed to raising awareness of the potential of local and national NGOs, it has not always led to effective cooperation between governments, NGOs and UNHCR.

Despite the problems, however, a number of ideas that emerged at the original Oslo conference have become a reality. These include publications such as the Programme Management Handbook for UNHCR’s Partners, and the Field Guide for NGOs on Protection. A Framework Agreement for Operational Partnership in the all-important area of refugee protection was introduced in 1999 and has been signed by more than 70 NGOs. The agreement aims to build active operational partnerships, institute high standards of conduct, and coordinate programme planning and implementation. In addition, joint efforts by the refugee agency and NGOs to tackle difficult issues such as the problems of refugee women and children have resulted in concrete recommendations.

The most important contribution of the Partnership in Action process has been increased cooperation with local and national NGOs. The number of partnerships between UNHCR and national NGOs, for instance, has tripled since the 1994 Oslo meeting. The process should bring together national and international NGOs to exchange information on accepted practices, thereby raising the capability of the local organizations. UNHCR has a central role to play in ensuring that expertise and skills related to assisting refugees in transferred to local NGOs. To date, the refugee agency has tended to transfer its know-how to national NGOs to deal with particular situations or emergencies rather than as a long-term project.

The Partnership in Action process needs to be seen as an ongoing programme to strengthen the ties between the refugee agency and the hundreds of NGOs that are so essential to its work rather than as a rigid framework defining strict rules of association.