IOM staff distributing in-kind grant items to a beneficiary in Basra, Iraq. © IOM 2015

By Angharad Laing
Executive Director, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection

Over the past decade, there have been important moves to improve accountability in humanitarian response. However, in order to further increase overall effectiveness in humanitarian action and ensure that humanitarian actors carry out their actions responsibly, we need to bring into the discussion the concept of the accountability of the individual – in particular through what we call “peer accountability”.

Among humanitarian actors, accountability is often understood as the process of using power responsibly. One of the important accountability relationships in this context is that between humanitarian actors and affected people.

Standards for accountability at the organizational level already exist and IOM has included accountability within its own draft humanitarian policy. But in order to implement such standards across the spectrum of humanitarian response, behavior needs to change: changing behaviors precedes results, and behavior is primarily changed at the level of the individual.

“Peer accountability” harnesses the power of the responsibility that individuals feel towards their peers and their shared mission and principles, as well as the support and constructive criticism they are in turn willing to give to others around them. Just as organizational accountability does not limit itself to the view that “heads must roll” if something goes wrong, “peer accountability” is not primarily about “holding someone accountable” but rather about “fostering a culture of accountability” in people.

Creating an organizational structure conducive to building “peer accountability” among staff is what operational humanitarian agencies, like IOM, should do. 

This is precisely what the International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP) is offering and the response to date has been very encouraging: Thousands of individuals from all over the world, working with international and local NGOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, governmental agencies, and the UN and other intergovernmental bodies, have joined the association in their individual capacity. In doing so, they support the mission of the association, their peers, their employers, and the overall improvement of humanitarian response worldwide.

Importantly, efforts to strengthen “peer accountability” are complementary to, and help amplify, organizational efforts for strengthened accountability. In that vein, I find it very encouraging that IOM is currently fostering discussion of accountability, such as the IOM online debate on accountability hosted by PHAP last December, and related issues among its staff as part of its ongoing humanitarian policy development.

PHAP looks forward to continuing to support this process through the IOM staff members involved with PHAP and through continued direct support at the organizational level.