TERMS OF REFERENCE

YEMEN EARLY RECOVERY CLUSTER

International co-lead: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

National co-lead: Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation

Updated November, 2015

Introduction:

The Humanitarian Coordinator retains responsibility for ensuring the adequacy, coherence and effectiveness of the overall humanitarian(both relief and early recovery) response and is accountable to the Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator, with the support of OCHA,the Early Recovery (ER) cluster will ensure a coherent and effective ER response by mobilizing groups of agencies, organizations and national and international NGOs to respond in a strategic manner on defined early recovery initiatives in partnership/synergy with the whole cluster system.

Background:

Yemen is in crisis. Before the ongoing internal conflict, the Doha Agreement ended six successive war in the north between the Houthis and Government forces, the GCC initiative try to usher a peaceful succession to Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemen is also prone to natural disasters including drought and flooding.

At the end of March 2015 the escalation of the underlying conflict in Yemen has significantly eroded the recovery gains made since 2012, pushing the ever fragile country into an acute humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview 2015, humanitarian partners now estimate that 21.2 million people – or 82 per cent of the population – require some kind of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs or protect their fundamental rights. The severity of needs among vulnerable people has also intensified across sectors. GOY/ILO estimate a massive 34.6% drop in GDP in 2015 (YSEU # 7, October 2015), while IMF predicts a 28.1% recession (IMF, October 2015).

Over 2.4 million people have fled their homes since 26 March, including 2.3 million who are displaced within Yemen. A recent UNDP survey of 1,512 Yemeni households in 6 conflict-affected Governorates confirms displacement represent a burden (30.6% of respondents feel there are too many IDPs in their community), and access to essential services (medical facilities mention by 48.6% and safe/clean water by 38.9%) is a concern (UNDP RIA, 2015).

Credible evidence of cluster munition use in is further adding to the plight of civilian populations in key conflict areas. Millions of Yemenis need assistance to ensure their basic survival. An estimated 7.6 million are believed to be severely food insecure.

Access has been reduced for all categories of natural productive and financial assets.Businesses have been affected nationwide: about 75% of businesses lost consumers and 26% of businesses have closed due to insecurity, loss of capital and high debts, with negative impact on employment and livelihoods. 76% of businesses surveyed reported some damages from the conflict, 21% complete destruction, 16% reported looting, over 70% have laid-off workers and many drastically reduced opening hours (UNDP/SMEPS Rapid Business Survey, 2015).

Solid waste collection has slowed down to a halt in several areas posing additional health hazards to communities. Service availability is rapidly contracting due to direct impact of conflict and insufficient resources to pay salaries or maintain services. In the public sector, with salaries of civil servants reportedly stopped since January in some areas, there is a direct loss of revenue for an estimated 26% of the population and their dependents.UNOSAT analysis indicates thatin aggregate, 2785 buildings show clear damage from aerial pictures with at least 775 totally destroyed. The airports in Sana’a, Aden and Sa’ada as well as Aden’s main port have been particularly damaged. Additionally, a total of 33 medical facilities in Sana’a, Aden, Taiz and Sa’ada were within a 100 meters radius of damaged or destroyed buildings.

To compound the effects of the conflict, early in November 2015 two cyclones – Chapala and Megh – have hit Yemen’s southern governorates, affecting almost 6,000 families (the majority located in the governorates of Socotra, Hadramaut and Shabwah) and generating considerable damage to houses and public service infrastructure, in particular water infrastructure.

The changed context has pushed partners to revise the existing Terms of Reference for the Early Recovery cluster to adapt them to the new circumstances and to sharpen the focus of the ER activities over the remaining of 2015 and 2016. It is expected that the present TORs will be revised again by the end of 2016.

Early recovery is a cross cutting issue which links the humanitarian phase with that of development. A wide range of stakeholders across the full spectrum of assistance collectively strive to ensure that communities and populations most affected by crisis are eventually in a position to move forward into the recovery phase and on to development, on an equal footing with other Yemeni citizens not directly affected by crisis – building their resilience at community, district, governorate and central level so to shorten as much as possible the duration of the relief phase as well as decrease the likelihood of falling back into crisis.

Objectives of the ER Cluster

ER initiatives begin as early in the humanitarian phase as conditions allow, and at the onset are often run in parallel to relief activities: however early recover extends to the end of the humanitarian phase by which time relief activities have been concluded.

The overall objective of the Early Recovery cluster is to address recovery-related gaps in the current context that do not fall within the humanitarian response programming of other clusters, including paving the way from the outset the post-humanitarian phase and improve resilience of affected populations to reduce the needs for core humanitarian relief. As such the cluster is part and parcel of the humanitarian coordination structure and will guide formulation and implementation of recovery interventions in Yemen with an eye to ‘recover’ from the effect of the crisis to a pre-crisis condition or, if possible through a process of ‘Building Back Better’, to an enhanced condition. All clusters are also encouraged to prepare recovery in their specialised intervention and cluster facilitators strive to mainstream early recovery and its principles in all active clusters.

The specific objectives of the ER cluster in Yemen are:

  • Reduce the physical and socio-economic impact of unexploded ordnance and landmines on conflict affected communities, which together with solid waste and debris management facilitates the access and effectiveness for other clusters;
  • Strengthen capacity of national NGOs to deliver responsive humanitarian assistance, and of local authorities to plan and coordinate local recovery and to deliver accessible and resilient public services;
  • Foster self-reliance and local economies’ resiliencebysupporting asset replacement and by creating economic opportunities focusing on rehabilitation of basic community infrastructure, also including solid waste and debris management.

All activities above will have a specific focus on the inclusion and meaningful participation of women and youth, given their greater vulnerability.

Consequently, and building on the comparative advantage generated by its members, the cluster will complement the ER initiatives coordinated in other clustersby focusing on the following thematic areas:

  • Mine Action (including Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and landmines survey and clearance, and victim assistance)
  • Local and Community Governance support
  • None-agricultural livelihoods and employment
  • Rehabilitation of small public/community infrastructure, solid waste management and debris removal
  • Capacity building of national NGOs and civil society organisations

The thematic areas mentioned above will be reviewed on an annual basis. In addition any priority area identified at the community level and not covered by other clusters will be considered and included as necessary.

Composition of the ER cluster

The following key humanitarian partnerswill be included in the ER cluster.

  • Representatives from humanitarian agencies active in implementing projects within the themes mentioned above (UN and national and international NGO).
  • Government of Yemen ministries – including but not limited to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Local Authorities, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training
  • Representatives from Governor’s office and other coordination bodies in the field.
  • Yemen Executive Mine Action Center
  • Cluster coordinators or appointed representative from all clusters and OCHA.
  • Social Fund for Development, Social Welfare Fund
  • ICRC, International Federation of the Red Crescent
  • Donors

Cluster members commit to responding to needs and filling gaps, ensuring an appropriate distribution of responsibilities within the cluster, with clearly defined focal points for specific issues where necessary.

ER Cluster coordination mechanisms

  • UNDP is the designated ER cluster lead agency at the global level and in Yemen and as such is accountable to the Humanitarian Coordinator for the cluster efficiency.
  • ER Cluster meeting are held in Sana’a every two weeks. Simultaneous meetings will take place in Amman until such a time when partners’ presence there will justify it.
  • The ER Cluster maintains effective links with other clusters through the Inter-Cluster Coordination Mechanism, and encourages other cluster lead agencies and members to include early recovery programming early on in their own response activities;
  • ER sub-national clusters based in regional hubs are activated as necessary and may be chaired or co-chaired by a designated cluster member as endorsed by the HC and Humanitarian Country Team and report to the main ER cluster.At the moment two sub-national clusters are active or planned to be re-activated:
  • In the South (Aden) Norwegian Refugee Council co-chairs the sub-national cluster with UNDP
  • In the North (Sa’ada) an NGO or UN partner will be sought to co-chair with UNDP
  • Sub-national clusters will focus on assessing the inherent needs of the northern and southern regions and response gaps. Partners in the field can report on their activities either at national level or sub-national level for transmission to the cluster IM unit and to the OCHA-led information products. Subnational cluster leads establish a steady flow of information with the national cluster to ensure that needs and response data is correctly reported and that any issue requiring extended discussion at national level is tabulated at the earliest cluster meeting.
  • The following Technical Working Groups (TWG) meet on a needs basis and report to the main ER cluster.
  • Mines Action – co-chaired by YEMAC and UNDP in partnership with the Child protection sub-cluster.
  • Capacity Building of civil society – co-chaired by the Humanitarian Forum, and UNDP.
  • Solid waste management (to be activated in partnership with the WASH cluster)

The working groups will be replicated at sub-national level according to the needs.

Coordination of livelihoods activities will take place with the Food Security and Agriculture cluster at national level as well as at sub-national level.

ERcoordination mechanisms will be adapted over time to reflect the capacities of local actors and the engagement of development partners.

ER cluster functions

Coordination with national/local authorities, State institutions, local civil society and other relevant actors

  • The cluster strategy will ensure that humanitarian response builds on local capacities;
  • The cluster will ensure that appropriate links with national and local authorities, State institutions and local civil society are created and maintained, and ensure appropriate coordination and information exchange with them.

Planning and strategy development

Ensure predictable action within the ER group for the following:

  • Identification of needs and gaps;
  • Identification of geographical priority areas;
  • Identification of thematic priorities;
  • Developing/updating agreed ER response strategies and action plans and ensuring that these are adequately reflected in overall country strategies;
  • Drawing lessons learned from past activities and revising strategies accordingly;
  • Developing an exit, or transition, strategy from ER to development.
  • Identify and find solutions to emerging gaps, obstacles, duplications and cross cutting issues.

Monitoring and reporting

  • Ensure adequate monitoring mechanisms are in place to review impact of ER initiatives and progress against implementation plans;
  • Ensure adequate reporting and effective information sharing (with OCHA support), with due regard for age and sex disaggregation.
  • Recommend corrective action where necessary
  • Measure performance against cluster strategy

Advocacy and resource mobilization

  • Identify core advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and contribute key messages to broader advocacy initiatives of the HC and other actors;
  • Advocate for donors to fund priority ER activities, while at the same time encouraging cluster members to mobilize resources for their activities through their usual channels.

Training and capacity building

  • Promote/support training of staff and capacity building of ER partners as necessary;
  • Support efforts to strengthen the capacity of the national authorities, national NGOs and civil society to lead on the recovery phase.

Attention to priority cross-cutting issues, participatory and community-based approaches

  • Ensure integration of agreed priority cross-cutting issues in ER needs assessment, analysis, planning, monitoring and response (e.g. age, diversity, environment, gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights);
  • Ensure gender-sensitive programming and promote gender equality; ensure that the needs, contributions and capacities of women and girls as well as men and boys are addressed;
  • Support partners in theutilization of participatory and community based approaches in needs assessment, analysis, planning, monitoring and response.Cluster representatives will participate into the Community Engagement Working Groupto ensure that response is informed by the views of affected populations and that cluster partners are held to account by affected people and act on their feedback.

Application of standards

  • Ensure that ER cluster participants are aware of relevant policy guidelines, technical standards and relevant commitments that the Government has undertaken under international human rights law; and that the cluster response is in line with them.

To support service delivery by:

  • Providing a platform that ensures service delivery is driven by the Strategic Response Plan and strategic priorities.
  • Developing mechanisms to eliminate duplication of service delivery.

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