Seoul – On 12 and 13 June 2024, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in the Republic of Korea (ROK) – in partnership with Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) – hosted the Protection Mainstreaming and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) Training for Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), ROK's official overseas emergency response unit. Twenty KDRT reserve members, including medical professionals and KOICA staff, attended this event. 

Organized as part of a two-year project titled Operational Capacity Building Support for the KDRT Reserve Workforce, the training aimed to enhance disaster readiness, equipping KDRT reserve members with the necessary knowledge and skills to support crisis-affected individuals or communities.  In response to a growing emphasis on protection mainstreaming and AAP in emergency responses, the workshop's goal was to ensure the safety, accessibility, participation and accountability of all affected or at-risk populations.  

The two-day training was led by David Alexander Baulk, Protection Officer at IOM Headquarters, and Ashereen Jessy Kanesan, Programme Officer and Gender-based Violence Specialist at IOM Pakistan. In order to provide key principles, concepts and elements of protection mainstreaming and AAP in emergencies, the sessions considered vulnerabilities of persons with special needs, safe referral and data protection mechanisms, and Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH). Group exercises coupled with field examples helped participants to incorporate their knowledge into practical designs and project implementation. 

“The training was beneficial as it covered the key principles and elements of protection and AAP, as well as how they are implemented on-site through specific processes of the cluster system,” one participant shared. Another added, “After learning about the key concepts, I plan to implement these response programmes from the perspective of the affected community when dispatched to overseas emergency sites.”  

Since 2021, IOM ROK has been providing capacity-building support to equip the reserve members of KDRT with the necessary skills and knowledge to operate in emergency contexts through a partnership with KOICA, the secretariat of KDRT. 

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For more information, please contact Youngin KIM, IOM Republic of Korea Mission, Tel.: +82 70 4820 2647, Email: yokim@iom.int.