F1IS 5300 - Humanitarian Diplomacy and Negotiation

***UPDATED for 2023/24***

Humanitarian actors negotiate daily to protect the lives affected by nature- or human-made disasters. They seek the license to operate to get access to the most vulnerable, assess, and provide for, their needs. In that respect, they engage the relevant stakeholders at all levels; they strive to persuade them to trigger humanitarian impulse and take action, in line with the humanitarian principles. They stay engaged to alleviate suffering as long as necessary. This humanitarian diplomacy and negotiation class builds on the Diplomacy and Negotiation methods course. It analyzes 150 years of humanitarian negotiators' contribution; it explores real-life cases involving organizations like ICRC, MSF, NRC, OCHA, or WFP; and it provides an inquiry-based framework to support responsible field practice.

Additional requested information: this class pursues a double objective: to engage negotiation theories to take humanitarian practices and its specific aspects seriously, and to provide practitioners with relevant responsible negotiation theories and tools.

Course objectives

Exploring negotiation responsibility of humanitarian actors

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian negotiators
• Assess their relational and transactional skills as a potential humanitarian actor;
• Foster a multi-layer responsibility as negotiator to engage people, to problem-solve constructively, and to facilitate an empowering process.
• Effectively engage with all people using guiding principles/methods that:
• Put people first (humanity, the needs of the most vulnerable, impartiality, proximity, identity, benevolence, cultural components, etc.)
• Network and advocate at all levels, aim for sustainable working relationships and overcome roadblocks and difficult behaviors
• Structure instructions, organizations, internal and external coordination and coalitions
• Ensure dynamic mapping of stakeholders (including aid recipients, local communities, principals, headquarters, implementers, other humanitarian agencies, host governments, the elders, bystanders, the non-state armed groups, commanders and soldiery, perpetrators, sympathizers, the press, etc.)
• Constructively solve problems through negotiations in order to:
• Leverage humanitarian values, principles, and norm compliance (humanity, impartiality, neutrality, etc.) beyond political/economic/religious/procedural obstacles in the search for adequate solutions (legitimate, legal, doable)
• Seek broadly acceptable solutions and agreements, which best responds to operate safely in a specific context in the host country, i.e. maximizes assistance and protection, while minimizing risks and delays for all
• Achieve positive humanitarian impact of solutions on beneficiaries and make the general environment safe, protective, caring, sustainable.
• Successfully facilitate negotiations through processes that:
• Carry on a structured process to have access to, and to protect and assist those most in need in a timely fashion
• Empower beneficiaries at all stages, from assessing needs to implementing operations, reviewing them and handing them over, when appropriate
• Build ownership of the solutions with all
• Structure a mandate which aligns local needs and the headquarters mission
• Implement local agreements in practice and overcome possible roadblocks at all levels (strategic, operational and ground)
• Ensure broad accountability for any decision (i.e. not only with principals, but beyond the traditional two-level power structure) and build feedback loops

Michele PEKAR,Alain LEMPEREUR

Séminaire

English

Participants in the class will also be exposed to case studies, exercises and video excerpts that they will be asked to review and analyze.
Additional requested information: 3 to 4 hours

Course dates:
Session 1: Tuesday March 7
Session 2: Tuesday March 21
Session 3: Tuesday March 28
Session 4: Tuesday April 4
Session 5: Tuesday April 11
Session 6: Tuesday April 18

Course times for both sections:

1. Section 1: 10.15-12.15 & 12.30-14.30 - Master in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action

2. Section 2: 14.45-16.45 & 17.00-19.00 - Master in International Security

The “Diplomacy and Negotiation” course is strongly recommended as a prerequisite. For students who did not take that course, please read “The First Move. A Negotiator's Companion” (Lempereur, Colson & Pekar, 2010) before class.

Spring 2024-2025

10% Class Participation: Sessions 1-6

• Attendance, punctuality, interactions, feedback
• Preparation of the simulations, and participation in the role-plays

15% Assignment 1 – Group Work Due: Session 2

The purpose of this group assignment is to analyze the ICRC delegate, Marcel Junod, as a pioneering humanitarian negotiator.

Each group should engage in the following tasks:

• Read individually the designated chapter from Warrior without Weapons.
• Group #1: Abyssinia (1935), 13-50
• Group #2: Spain (1936), 87-110
• Group #3: Spain (1936), 111-134
• Group #4: Germany-Poland (1939), 137-155.
• Group #5: Germany-France (1940), 156-174.
• Group #6: Germany-England-Greece (1940), 175-206.
• Group #7: Germany-England-Russia (1941-44), 207-232.
• Group #8: Japan (1945), 235-271
• Discuss and analyze the chapter with your group members.
• Leverage the 8P negotiation framework to structure your analysis:
• Purpose of humanitarian negotiation
• Problems to address
• Place of intervention and negotiation (context, country, region, etc.)
• Planning of intervention (dates, sequence, length, meetings, etc.)
• People who were concerned (authorities, arm bearers, beneficiaries, etc.)
• Process Moves and Methods
• Principles of humanitarian negotiation at stake
• Product of the negotiation (deliverable)
• Summarize your analysis and findings in one or two slides, using the PowerPoint provided template.
• Have your group representative send the PowerPoint presentation with your findings the DAY BEFORE SESSION 2, at 11am, copying all your group members.

30% Assignment 2 – Individual Work Due: Session 3 & 6

The purpose of this individual assignment is for you to analyze a national diplomat who turned humanitarian during World War 2.

Each student should individually engage in the following tasks:

• Choose one WWII humanitarian diplomat in the list that is provided in Appendix A, or validate any other humanitarian negotiator with the instructor. On the provided Google document, indicate the name of the selected diplomat. Please do not choose Wallenberg or Junod for this assignment.
  Due: Session 3
• Make research about the humanitarian negotiator you chose.
• Prepare 5 PowerPoint slides using the provided template. After the title slide, introduce briefly the negotiator (1 slide), present and analyze his or her negotiations (1 slide), possibly use a movie clip or any other digital content you have identified (1 slide), the lessons learnt for humanitarian negotiation (1 slide) and the book, or any further reading or web source, as to allow to explore further the topic in question (1 slide).
• Submit your PowerPoint presentation that summarizes your individual findings the DAY BEFORE SESSION 6, at 11am.
  Due: Session 6

30% Assignment 3 & 4 – Group Work Due: Session 3 & 5

The purpose of this individual assignment is for you to prepare the two simulations (Chinroni and MSF) before sessions 3 and 5.

Each student should individually engage in the following tasks:

• Read the instructions for your role
• Read (or reread) the chapter on preparation of The First Move. A Negotiator's Companion
• Fill in the Prep Sheet template, using the 3–slide PPT Prep Sheet
• Send your PowerPoint presentation that summarizes your findings at 11am, the day before session 3 or 4.
• Bring your Prep Sheet to class

15% Assignment 5 – Group Work Due: Session 4

The purpose of this group assignment is to analyze MSF humanitarian negotiations.

• Prepare individually the designated chapter from Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed. The MSF Experience.
• Group #1: Yemen, 41-48.
• Group #2: Sri-Lanka, 15-34
• Group #3: Somalia, 77-94
• Group #4: Myanmar, 109-128
• Group #5: Afghanistan, 39-68
• Group #6: Gaza Strip, 95-108
• Group #7: Nigeria, 129-146
• Group #8: Pakistan, 69-76
• Discuss the chapter before class with your group members.
• Leverage the 8P negotiation framework to structure your analysis, in full or in part if you find it helpful.
• Summarize your analysis in one or two slides, using the PPT template.
• Have your group representative send the PowerPoint presentation with your findings the DAY BEFORE SESSION 4, at 11am, copying all your group members.

To make this workshop as interactive as possible, simulations and role-playing are used and discussed in class. Participants are provided with techniques for humanitarian negotiations, for their preparations, actions, and reviews.