UNHCR Operational Guidance on Accountability to Affected People

Accountability to Affected People (AAP) is widely
used in the humanitarian community to refer to the
related commitments and mechanisms humanitarian
agencies have in place to ensure that communities are
meaningfully and continuously involved in decisions
that directly impact their lives.
Accountability refers to the responsible use of power
(resources, decision making) by humanitarian actors,
combined with effective and quality programming
that recognises the community of concern’s dignity,
capacity, and ability to be independent. For UNHCR,
the term ‘affected people,’ common in inter-agency
settings, refers to persons of concern, in line with
the organization’s mandate on behalf of asylum
seekers, returnees, refugees, stateless, and internally
displaced persons.
Examples of actions taken in relation to AAP include,
participatory assessments, feedback boxes, public
information boards, community meetings, interviews,
counselling sessions, and home visits.