Attachments
Terms of Reference
HUMANITARIAN ADVISORY GROUP (HAG)
Bangladesh
I. Purpose and Roles
The Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG) is a network of humanitarian organisations that work together to assist the Resident Coordinator (RC) in Bangladesh in her role as the Co-chair of the Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT). The Terms of Reference (ToR) are based on the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) Standard Terms of Reference for Humanitarian Country Teams endorsed by the IASC Emergency Directors Group in February 2017.
The HAG recognisesand respects national Government leadership in disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response. During disasters, the HAG provides support to RC to enable the delivery of fast, effective and principled humanitarian response under the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh and in collaboration with the UN agencies, non-government organisations and donors.
The HAG supports the RC to ensure necessary arrangements are in place to enable effective international support for mitigation, preparedness, early warning, anticipatory action and support to nationally led disaster response. It provides a space for those working on issues relating to disaster risk management and humanitarian action in Bangladesh to come together and collaborate with government leadership and coordination roles before, during and after disasters.
The HAG members are guided by and committed to humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and the broader framework for international humanitarian action, and embody the Principles of Partnership such as equality, transparency, results-oriented approach, responsibility, complementarity.
Under the leadership of the RC, the HAG will discuss and build consensus on major policy issues related to international humanitarian action among IASC partners in the country and ensures that those IASC guidelines and policies and strategies adopted by the HAG are adhered to by organisations participating in the coordinated humanitarian response.
The HAG members are guided by the principles of and are committed to collective Accountability to Affected People (AAP), Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and Gender Equality. The HAG commits to ensure adherence to the IASC GBV Guidelines and Minimum Standards.
The HAG promotes the collective participation of and accountability towards, affected communities (AAP) to ensure the needs and rights of all disaster-affected people are met, including the most marginalised and vulnerable.
The imperative to protect people lies also at the heart of humanitarian action. This includes regular discussions on cross-cutting protection challenges and coordinated advocacy and messaging.