Practices by Stakeholder 8

Training of local civil society

The competitive advantages of civil society actors include better access to and acceptance by migrant communities, access to areas inaccessible by international actors, and their ability to address gaps in humanitarian response. Inter-agency coordination on capacity building programs can avoid duplication and help harmonize training. Factors to consider include:

• Apolitical and non-discriminatory selection of partner organizations;
• Offering training of trainers to ensure knowledge is passed on within organizations and networks;
• Joint training for local civil society;
• Technical capacity building, including training on humanitarian principles, international and national legal frameworks, identification of vulnerable migrants, awareness-raising on migrants’ rights and needs, referral mechanisms, and psychosocial support;
• Support for network-building with local civil society around the world to share practices and resources;
• Secondment of experienced personnel to support local partners.

Training for non-traditional service providers

Civil society can play a role in providing training on migrants’ specific needs in the context of crises to actors who may not ordinarily be in the service of assisting migrants, but who may be well placed to identify or address migrants’ vulnerabilities, make referrals, or support responses. These actors include:

• Flight attendants;
• National and local media in States of origin and host States;
• Interpreters or translators;
• Counselors and health care staff;
• Faith-based leaders and staff;
• School staff, as children of migrant families can be important intermediaries in transmitting pertinent crisis information.