Local Humanitarianism and Organisational Complexities: Implementation of Safeguarding Measures

Over the last decade, several Arab countries have been experiencing long-term political turmoil, civil wars, and ongoing conflicts. As a result, there has been an unprecedented surge in local humanitarianism, exemplified by the expansion of local humanitarian organisations, increased resource allocation for humanitarian action, and a global focus on humanitarian actors’ accountability for affected people. This chapter analyses the complex accountability relationships that influence local responses to humanitarian crises by focusing on implementing safeguarding measures among civil society organisations (CSOs) in five Arab countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine. The main research question this chapter addresses is: How have local humanitarian organisations evolved in understanding, adopting, integrating, and implementing safeguarding measures in the five Arab countries? This chapter argues that there is a need to reconsider measures adopted by local humanitarian organisations to navigate the accountability demands of different loci and ensure the enforcement of safeguarding policies on the long run.