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Advocacy in emergencies

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Key points
  • Be clear what your key messages are. Be clear about the purpose of your advocacy. What do you want to achieve?
  • Incorporate advocacy in your overall protection strategy.
  • Adjust your strategy to what you want to achieve. If a small (closed door) intervention suffices to reach your goal, no need to go public with an advocacy campaign ["Ladder of options" approach].
  • Consult extensively and cooperate with others. Wherever possible, avoid competitive advocacy. Seek to work with others to achieve advocacy that is complementary.
  • Manage risks pro-actively to avoid surprises. Consider possible unintended consequences of your advocacy, at field and global level, on the humanitarian response on the ground and on UNHCR's oversight responsibilities.
  • Make sure that all advocacy products are evidence-based, fact-checked, and proofread. Make sure you are honest.
  • Make sure that all your advocacy messages are consistent, internally and over time.
  • Be concise. Avoid jargon wherever you can. If you have to use jargon, explain what it means.

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