OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Published purpose

One of the main objectives of humanitarian reform is to ensure adequate response capacity, particularly for sudden-onset emergencies. The idea of a protection standby capacity force that could be deployed at the request of United Nations (UN) country teams in situations of internal displacement was endorsed in principle by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) in 2004. The Protection Standby Capacity (ProCap) project was established in late 2005 to support operational protection response. This support would be in addition to humanitarian agencies’ responsibilities to increase their capacity through their normal staffing and recruitment processes. ProCap reinforces the strategic and operational protection response for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable groups in emergencies and protracted humanitarian situations and supports the capacity-building objectives of the global protection cluster. CIDA's support of ProCap facilitates addressing and responding to priority gaps and needs in emergency protection response. This support reflects Canada's commitment to the protection of civilians, particularly those that are most vulnerable (e.g. women, children, IDPs) in conflict situations.