Moving from declarations of the centrality of protection to its operationalisation has taken numerous forms over the years. Identifying how it manifests coherently in any humanitarian response remains a work in progress and still requires ‘some changes in mindset and ways of working’. 1 This Global Protection Cluster (GPC) annual review provides an opportunity to consider the centrality of protection in practice, with a focus on 2019. The review (1) uses examples and insights to identify existing and proposed elements of the centrality of protection; and (2) recommends these elements are further developed and used more systematically as tools to support implementation of a coherent, humanitarian system-wide protective response.