Leadership in Humanitarian Action - Handbook for Humanitarian Coordinators 2024

The Handbook outlines the roles and responsibilities of the UN Resident Coordinator (RC), whether designated as a Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) or not, and those of the HC in leading and coordinating inter-agency humanitarian action in support of the host Government and local actors.

It also summarizes the skills, competencies and qualities required to lead an effective humanitarian response. The Handbook is a guide to the normative framework for humanitarian action and the operational approaches, coordination structures, and available tools and services that facilitate the mobilization of humanitarian assistance.

It is not a prescriptive guide. The approaches to humanitarian action (and levels of priority) will differ according to the context and the type of emergency.

The Handbook is designed to directly support the work of senior humanitarian leadership in carrying out their leadership functions. It is also a reference for the wider humanitarian community working with or supporting the leadership in country operations.