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.
