Protection monitoring in areas of IDPs/returnees and host communities including COVID 19 Pandemic Response and post-election human right monitoring This project is designed to assist with identifying protection concerns, documenting violations, referring cases to service providers for timely response and intervention. It will also assist with capacity building of duty bearers in applying human rights based approach to protection response and to right holders on their human rights. 

The planned project will also provide additional response to the human rights and protection response to the situation in Tigray and other areas affected by conflict and internal displacement, in view of the serious conflict, protection concerns and alleged human right violations. 

The project will cover all of Tigray using three teams based in Mekelle, Shire and Alamata. The protection monitoring set up by OHCHR takes into consideration existing communication, movement and access barriers posed by insecurity and lack of commitment from authorities. Other areas of the country affected by recent conflicts and fresh internal displacements lacking protection of human right and humanitarian repercussions for IDPs, returnees and host communities will also be covered by this project. 

The project aims to recruit ten monitors to cover 23 woredas from 9 zones  (East, West, North-Western, Central, Mekelle, South-Eastern and Southern Tigray Kamshi in Benishangul Gumuz, Central and North Gondar in Amhara) from three regional states. 

The project aims to have five duty stations (Mekelle, Shire, Alamata, Gondar, and Nekemte) from where the monitoring teams will monitor the protection and human right issues of the affected population is facing. 

The planned project will ensure that local language speaking, gender balanced and well experience monitors will be deployed to project areas affected by ethnic based conflict and fighting between security forces of the state, regional states, and unidentified armed groups (UAGs).

OHCHR will conduct its protection monitoring intervention in coordination with the protection cluster, protection partners and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). OHCHR with the EHRC plans to conduct joint human rights investigation in Tigray, and joint monitoring in other areas, with the goal of realizing appropriate protection response, durable solutions, and prevention of violations through strong advocacy, effective monitoring and technical support for right holders and duty bearers, mainstreaming protection principles and human rights, and realizing durable solutions. 

Considering the risks IDPs and returnees being confined in camps or living in urban areas with overcrowding, poor sanitation and inaccessible health services including language and cultural barriers, costs, lack of access to information, and discrimination. It is therefore important for the local authorities to take specific actions to include them in the COVID-19 prevention and response. OHCHR would continue to advocate for equal access to information, testing, and health care for all IDPs and returnees as well as to access health, food distribution, and other essential services. For that, OHCHR will work closely and cohesively with the various clusters, sub-clusters and working groups under the protection cluster. 

The project will extensively conduct daily protection monitoring and will document and investigate human right violations and refer cases to service providers, including the government, protection and humanitarian partners and other stakeholders.

The Project goal is to advocate for right based protection and humanitarian response and accountability for alleged human right violations and will produce flash, weekly, monthly and bi-annual reports and provide various types of capacity building technical assistance to various stakeholders.