Humanitarian Notification System (HNS) - Standard Operation Procedure, March 2021

Introduction

In April 2015, at the request of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) Yemen, UNOCHA established a voluntary notification mechanism with the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC) aimed at facilitating its obligations under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to ensure safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Humanitarian notification informs parties to the armed conflict of the location of a select category of facilities and movements that are entitled to protection under international humanitarian law (IHL): civilian objects that fulfill a humanitarian function, movements of humanitarian staff and supplies, and critical civilian infrastructure.

Independent of any humanitarian notification system, all parties to the armed conflict are obliged under IHL not to direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including humanitarian staff, facilities and assets, as well as civilian infrastructure that is indispensable for the survival of the civilian population.

Humanitarian notification is not a prerequisite for protection under IHL. Conversely, the absence of notification or the removal from the notification list of any given object or movement does not change its status as to its protection under IHL.

Under IHL, protection against direct attack or incidental harm depends on the specific circumstances, including how an object is being used and the presence of any military object in its vicinity. 3 The onus always remains on the parties to the conflict to verify targets and take precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm.

OCHA serves as the conduit between humanitarian organisations and the Evacuation and Humanitarian Operations Committee (EHOC) as the designated focal point of the SLC. OCHA has established and overseen the growth and efficient operation of a system to facilitate this engagement, with clear procedures and roles and responsibilities. In response to increased demand among humanitarian organizations, UNOCHA launched an online platform in January 2019 to assist humanitarian partners in submitting notifications.

Scope

The scope of the notification mechanism is limited to:

• Notification of overland humanitarian movements;

• Notification of venues used for the implementation of humanitarian activities, humanitarian premises, personnel and equipment;

• Permanent notification of humanitarian premises, also known as the “Permanent Notified Sites List” (e.g. offices, warehouses, and guest houses.);

• Sea and air movements of humanitarian personnel and cargo.

The notification mechanism does not constitute a legally binding agreement between any of the involved parties. It does not guarantee the safety of humanitarian premises, personnel, equipment and activities.

This document covers: Overland movement; Oversea movement; Air movement; Notification of venues; Humanitarian notification for permanent sites (Permanent Notified Sites List); Emergency notifications.

Important note:

UNOCHA does not verify the data/information provided via the notification mechanisms. All notifications should be submitted to the NLT via the online platform. Notifications submitted outside the platform will not be processed and returned to the organization.