Findings and Recommendations InterAction Protection Mission – Northeast Nigeria

At the request of the Nigeria INGO Forum, InterAction visited Nigeria in July/August 2018 to help identify ways to address the protection concerns arising from the ongoing conflict in the northeast.

This report presents key findings and specific recommendations for achieving protection outcomes, including to strengthen protection analysis; invest in the prevention of gender-based violence; expand safe freedom of movement of civilians; and invest in a coordinated strategy to ensure IDPs’ decisions regarding return, relocation, or local integration are safe, viable, and voluntary.

Recommendations put forth in the report are consistent with the key elements of results- based protection:

1. Strengthen multi-sectoral data collection and sharing, and continuous context-specific analysis, as a basis for collective problem-solving.

2. Expand safe freedom of movement of civilians around garrison towns.

3. Invest in the prevention of gender-based violence.

4. Invest in a coordinated strategy to ensure that IDPs make free and informed decisions regarding their return, relocation or local integration, and that their return, relocation and/or local integration options are safe, viable and undertaken voluntarily.

5. Put in place competencies and mechanisms to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment by and of humanitarian personnel.

6. Continue to build strategic engagement with key stakeholders in alignment with desired protection outcomes.

7. Invest in coordination and collaboration for protection outcomes.