Humanitarian Academy

Protection

Humanitarian protection: analysing risks, mainstreaming protection and responding

Risk equation, PAF analysis, monitoring, protection mainstreaming and the Guiding Principles: protect crisis-affected people by genuinely reducing the risks they face.

  • 4 days · 24 hours
  • 3 levels · 3 certificates
  • 3 scenarios
  • Verifiable certificate
Start the course
  • Free, unlimited access
  • 4 one-day modules
  • 3 scenarios and 12 quiz questions
  • 3 graded case studies and 3 exams
  • Certificate in your name, verifiable online

What you will learn

  • Explain what humanitarian protection covers, its legal framework, its centrality and the architecture of the Protection Cluster.
  • Analyse the protection risks facing a population and conduct protection monitoring that is safe, ethical and useful for decision-making.
  • Mainstream protection into the programmes of all sectors and organise targeted responses, from individual assistance to mine action.

Course information

Level
Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced (one certificate per level)
Study time
24 hours over 4 days (lessons, case studies, exercises)
Format
Online, at your own pace, free and unlimited access
Assessment
Per level: graded case study + 20-question exam (30 to 40 min, pass marks 70%, 75% and 80%)
Credential
Named, numbered certificate of achievement, verifiable online (QR code)
Reference frameworks
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) · International Committee of the Red Cross · Global Protection Cluster

A 3-level certification pathway

Progress from Beginner to Advanced. Each level ends with a graded case study and a timed exam, and leads to its own verifiable certificate.

Level 1Beginner

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 70% to pass

Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Explain the IASC definition of protection and its three bodies of law.
  • Break down a risk into threat, vulnerability and capacities.
  • Apply the basic rules of protection mainstreaming and explosive ordnance risk education.
  1. Day1Understanding protectionDefining protection · The centrality of protection · The protection risk equation · Actors and the Protection Cluster Scenario: The firewood path
  2. Graded case study : The Saturday distribution Kalembo displacement site, 8,400 people · 20 questions including a case study · 70% to pass
Level 2Intermediate

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 75% to pass

Intermediate certificate · Opens after the Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Structure an analysis with the PAF and conduct protection monitoring.
  • Manage sensitive information: consent, data minimisation, secure sharing.
  • Organise individual protection assistance and safe referral.
  1. Day2Analysing and monitoring risksThe Protection Analytical Framework (PAF) · Protection monitoring · Sensitive data and the do no harm principle · Internal displacement and the Guiding Principles Scenario: The requested list
  2. Day3Mainstreaming and respondingProtection mainstreaming · The ICRC Professional Standards · Individual protection assistance and referral · Civil documentation, HLP and mine action Scenario: The land for the new neighbourhood
  3. Graded case study : Monitoring that raises the alarm Upper Mabé province, 3 districts · 20 questions including a case study · 75% to pass
Level 3Advanced

Exam: 20 questions · 40 min · 80% to pass

Advanced certificate · Opens after the Intermediate certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Contribute to the HCT protection strategy and the response plan.
  • Design protection advocacy that is evidence-based and safe for people.
  • Coordinate with the GBV, child protection, HLP and mine action AoRs.
  1. Day4Advanced module Protection strategy, advocacy and sensitive dataThe HCT protection strategy · Protection advocacy · Managing and sharing sensitive data · Measuring protection outcomes
  2. Graded case study : Returns under pressure Sorandi town and villages of origin · 20 questions including a case study · 80% to pass

Who is it for?

Protection officers and managers, monitoring teams, caseworkers, project managers from all sectors (shelter, WASH, food security, health, CCCM), members of the Protection Cluster and its areas of responsibility, and anyone who wants to work in the protection of crisis-affected populations.

The certificate

With at least 70% correct answers in the final assessment, you receive a certificate in your name, with a unique code that recruiters can verify on Humanitaires Jobs. A free Members area account is required.

Key concepts

The vocabulary you need to master for this course and the exam.

Protection (IASC)
All activities aimed at full respect for the rights of the individual under human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law.
Centrality of protection
The principle that protection involves the Humanitarian Coordinator, the HCT and all sectors.
Risk equation
Risk = Threat × Vulnerability / Capacity.
PAF
Protection Analytical Framework: a four-pillar analysis framework (context, threats, effects, capacities).
Protection monitoring
Systematic and regular collection, verification and analysis of information on risks and violations.
IDP
Internally displaced person: forced to flee without crossing an international border.
Protection mainstreaming
Application in all programmes of safety and dignity, meaningful access, accountability and participation.
HLP
Housing, land and property.
EORE
Explosive ordnance risk education.
AoR
Area of responsibility of the Protection Cluster: GBV, child protection, HLP, mine action.
PIM
Protection information management: principles governing the collection and sharing of sensitive data.

References and recommended reading

The official texts and sector reference works on which the course is based.

  1. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) (2016). IASC Policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action. interagencystandingcommittee.org
  2. International Committee of the Red Cross (2018). Professional Standards for Protection Work Carried Out by Humanitarian and Human Rights Actors in Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence (3rd edition). www.icrc.org/fr
  3. Global Protection Cluster (2021). Protection Analytical Framework (PAF). www.globalprotectioncluster.org
  4. United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (1998). Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. www.ohchr.org/fr
  5. Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards (Protection Principles). spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
  6. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) (2010). IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons. interagencystandingcommittee.org
  7. GBV AoR, UNFPA (2024). Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR). www.gbvaor.net
  8. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2024). Protection of internally displaced persons. www.unhcr.org/fr