The main objective of the Advisory Committee is to strengthen participation and ownership of a wide range of actors in the follow-up work to the Nansen Initiative and in the implementation of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda. Its function is twofold: 1) To provide expert input and strategic advice to the Chair and Steering Group of the Platform, and, as applicable and appropriate, 2) Support implementation of activities in the Workplan in consultation with the Secretariat and the Chair.
The Advisory Committee consists, inter alia, of individuals and representatives of international and regional organizations, research institutions, academia, private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society stakeholders that have an interest to promote and implement the Protection Agenda and are committed to, individually or collectively, address protection challenges related to disaster displacement. It represents a diverse group of stakeholders with expertise in different fields of relevance to disaster displacement such as humanitarian assistance and protection, human rights, migration management, refugee protection, disaster risk reduction, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and development.
The Advisory Committee is chaired by Prof. Walter Kaelin, the Envoy of the Chair of the Steering Group, and the meetings are organised by the Secretariat. The Advisory Committee meets at least once a year in Geneva, Switzerland to take stock of progress in implementing the Protection Agenda, share information on effective practices and lessons learned, present new research and new initiatives, assess gaps and challenges and discuss and promote opportunities for further cooperation, coordination and action. The annual meeting will be called by the Chair and organised by the Secretariat.
The 2023 Advisory Committee Meeting took place in March 2023 in Bogy-Bossey, Switzerland. To learn more about the previous Advisory Committee Workshop please read the 2016, 2017 and 2019 workshop reports or find out the highlights of the event in our News & Events section.
