The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held its 75th Executive Committee session from 14 October to 18 October 2024. Among many items on the agenda, the increasing commitment to risk management strategies adopted by the organisation was highlighted both in the opening statements by the High Commissioner and remarks by the Deputy High Commissioner for Protection. These references reiterated the ongoing commitment of the UNHCR to transforming its structure and conduct to have a stronger focus on region-specific, field-dominated concerns and managing risks on the ground more effectively. Reference to risk management by international organisations is not rare in the form of adoption of “enterprise risk management” strategies. Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a holistic risk management agenda that systematically analyses risks that could arise in the operations of international organisations, identifies potential damage and harms that might be faced by the organisation as a result, and creates a particular “risk appetite” which creates a space of operation whereby it is strategically advantageous or tolerable for the organisation to operate. While ERM is a holistic concept, encompassing multiple forms of risk, the international organisations’ literature mainly emphasises financial, operational, or political risks and demonstrates how the introduction of risk management strategies could potentially reshape organisational decision-making, where international organisations are moving away from operating with the clear boundaries set by the legal mandate of the organisation, to adopt more flexible, and potentially expansive operational spaces that are dynamically set by the potential risk appetite, and risk calculation for a particular domain. Hence, the proliferation of risk management strategies could potentially replace the delimitation of the international organisation’s functions by its legal mandate with risk calculations and make the organisation more prone to taking risks potentially engaging in conduct that is conventionally beyond its mandate.
Triple-I Blog | Data Fuels the Assaulton Climate-Related Risk – Go Health Pro
By Lewis Nibbelin, Contributing Writer, Triple-I Identifying opportunities to mitigate climate risk was on the minds of “Risk Take” presenters at Triple-I’s 2024 Joint Industry Forum (JIF). Risk Takes – a new addition at JIF – are 10-minute problem/solution-oriented presentations by high-impact experts who are deeply engaged in addressing specific perils. Inserted between panel discussions … Read more
