Definitions/ Glossary Accountability to affected populations (AAP) is a commitment to the intentional and systematic inclusion of the expressed needs, concerns, capacities, and views of displaced and stateless persons in their diversity; and being answerable for our organizational decisions and staff actions, in all protection, assistance and solutions interventions and programmes. (UNHCR Operational Guidance on AAP) Age, gender and diversity approach (AGD): An approach to humanitarian action that aims to ensure that all affected people can enjoy their rights on an equal footing and participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives, families, and communities. UNHCR’s AGD approach recognizes that displacement and statelessness affect people differently, depending on age, gender, and other diverse characteristics, circumstances or experiences. (UNHCR Master Glossary of Terms) Assent (informed): The expressed willingness to pursue legal procedures or participate in services. For younger children who are, by definition, too young to give informed consent, but old enough to understand the implication of the procedures to be followed or to participate in the recommended services, the child’s “informed assent” is sought. Informed assent is the expressed will of the child to participate in services and undertake the consequences of eventual legal procedures. (Inter-Agency Community-Based Complaint Referral Mechanism) Asylum-seeker: Ageneral term for any person who is seeking international protection. In some countries, it is used as a legal term referring to a person who has applied for refugee status or a complementary international protection status and has not yet received a final decision on their claim. It can also refer to a person who has not yet submitted an application but may intend to do so, or may be in need of international protection. Not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, but every refugee is initially an asylum seeker. However, an asylum-seeker may not be sent back to their country of origin until their asylum claim has been examined in a fair procedure, and is entitled to certain minimum standards of treatment pending determination of their status. (UNHCR Master Glossary of Terms) Communication and Transparency: the consistent and intentional sharing of timely, accurate, and relevant information between UNHCR, its partners, and people of concern. (UNHCR Operational Guidance on AAP) Community-Based Approach to Protection: An inclusive partnership strategy that recognizes and builds on the capacities and resources of persons of concern to UNHCR, by establishing trust, promoting meaningful participation, consultation and leadership in all aspects of programmes that affect them. It is a continuous process that engages communities as analysts, evaluators and implementers in their own protection. (UNHCR Master Glossary of Terms) Complaint: Is negative feedback. See Feedback below. Consent: Any freely given and informed indication of agreement by a person. Consent is not given if agreement is obtained through abuse of power, force or threat of force, and other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception or misrepresentation. (UNHCR Master Glossary of Terms) Diversity: Refers to different values, attitudes, cultural perspectives, beliefs, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, health, social and economic status, skills, and other specific personal characteristics. Diversity characteristics vary from person to person and intersect, making each person unique. These differences must be recognized, understood, respected, and valued by UNHCR in each context and operation in order to address effectively the needs of all forcibly displaced and stateless persons. Respecting diversity means recognizing and valuing those differences and creating a protective, inclusive, and nondiscriminatory environment where everyone’s rights are upheld. (UNHCR Policy on Age, Gender and Diversity) Feedback: Is formal or informal communication from persons of concern received through feedback mechanisms. It can either be positive or negative (complaint) and informs programming or requires corrective action (response). (UNHCR Operational Guidance on AAP) Gender: Refers to the socially constructed roles for women and men, which are often central to the way in which people define themselves and are defined by others. Gender roles are learned, changeable over time, and variable within and between cultures. Gender often defines the duties, responsibilities, constraints, opportunities and privileges of women, men, girls, and boys in any context. (UNHCR Master Glossary of Terms) Internally Displaced Person: A person who has been forced or obliged to flee from their home or place of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order MENA AAP TOOLKIT: STRENGTHENING INCLUSION AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO AFFECTED PEOPLE 42