About HAMI

Background

The idea of the need of monitoring the Humanitarian Accountability emerged after the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015 and the continuous aftershocks which caused huge human and property losses. Civil society organisations (CSOs) made field visits in most affected earth-quake hard hit areas/districts and found rescue operations as well as distribution of relief packages by GO and CSOs as well as private sectors/individuals which is fine at least for the sake of the victims. However, what is the process of rescue, who distributes what, what is the quality of the materials being distributed, what is the actual need and what is available locally, how to understand the government’s saying of “one door policy?”, what’s the rationale behind, how government is working in disaster-hit areas in terms of fund, function and functionary, the level of the continual improvement. These are found some of the major lacking to be undertaken as an umbrella of the Monitoring of Accountability on Humanitarian Ground. 

Introduction

Humanitarian Accountability Monitoring Initiative (HAMI) is the convergence of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working with the right holders (women, children, indigenous nationalities, Dalit, youth, senior citizens, and persons with disability, LGBTIs/MSM, and other marginalised and excluded groups). The common cause of this convergence is monitoring the humanitarian accountability in the time of emergency, that is, post-disaster emerged due to a devastating earthquake in Nepal. The convergence has a firm belief that future generation will increase their capacity enough to combat disaster has been formed on 11 May 2015. By way of continuous efforts of evidence-based advocacy and lobby, this network HAMI monitors the attempts and activities made so far and to be made in future including other disasters (such as floods, landslides) by the government, international communities, non-government and private sectors. HAMI is an effort of the CSOs as a paradigm shift from the perspective of “I or for me” to the “we and us”. CSO federations and alliances play an active advisory role for the HAMI. Their major role is policy advocacy based on evidence-based information/data to be generated by this network through collective monitoring effort. A total of 12-13 initiators have formed their Core Committee to manage/handle the monitoring works. National Alliance for Human Rights and Social Justice Nepal (Human Rights Alliance) works as a secretariat of the Core Committee. 

Three major technical committees, first on monitoring the effect of the disaster in the field, second on the accountability monitoring and the third on the aid monitoring have been formed by the meeting of the Core Committee on 22 May 2015. This Proposal is prepared for the two components: 

  • Monitoring the effect of the earthquake and its aftershocks in 14 most affected districts; and
  • Monitoring the accountability of the GO/CSOs/International Community focusing on reconstruction and rehabilitation    
  • Policy advocacy for post-disaster related policy plan and frameworks/Disaster Management Bill

Vision, Mission, Goal and Objectives

Vision, Mission, Goal and objectives of the consortium will be the following. These statements will be dynamic based on the national, international priority and nature of the disaster the human encounters.

Vision

A Generation/Society with Full Observance of Human Rights due to the Compliance of State and Non-state actors on Humanitarian Accountably 

Mission

To mobilise peoples’ opinion to obtain informed standard humanitarian support by creating a constructive critical mass for the sake of the continual improvement and for addressing and redressing their agendas before state and non-state actors including international communities.  

Goal

To make humanitarian support accountable, transparent and equitable linked by common respect for the rights and dignity of disaster affected survivors by a widely recognised monitoring consortium – HAMI.  

Objectives 

The immediate strategic objective of the HAMI is to monitor the accountability of government, non-government as well as private sectors by developing a concrete mechanism and expertising their own networks, capacity and experiences as well as credibility focusing on the comprehended problems and challenges through coordination and cooperation in the national and international level.  In this respect, this CSO initiative aims: 

  • To identify the disaster affected community for quick, acceptable and equitable rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction;
  • To monitor the situation of rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction situation of disaster affected community from human rights perspective (fulfil, respect and protect);
  • To identify the situation of accountability of the Government as well as CSOs, international community and private sectors in response to the survivors’ day to day living condition and formulation of the policies and programmes in relation to the post-disaster framework.