The Evolution of the Child Protection in Humanitarian Action Sector

Concern or disregard for vulnerable children in crisis situations is as old as humankind. How individuals, communities, and groups responded to the needs of vulnerable children and those in humanitarian contexts has varied throughout the past, based on beliefs, values, and behaviours at that time and context.

This timeline, which offers a narrative of some of the events that have contributed to shaping the sector, is not an exhaustive catalogue of all the events and individual and organisational efforts made for the protection of children in humanitarian contexts. We must acknowledge that the sector is a composite of all efforts that have come before us, including greater and smaller contributions from individuals, governments, and organisations—both local and global. We hope this timeline will help practitioners better situate where the sector has come from and better understand the evolution of this technical area of work. For this reason, the timeline does not detail all the current and most recent work streams in the sector.

Watch this accompanying video on the Evolution of the CPHA Sector: https://youtu.be/tfa8udxCxV4

If you believe there is a key milestone missing from the CPHA timeline, please use this form to share the details.The timeline will be reviewed in 2024, and additional inputs may be added at this time.