Blog

With regular contributions from the GISF Secretariat and guest experts, the GISF Blog explores a range of topical, contextual and theoretical developments affecting the practice of humanitarian SRM.

Webinar – Communications Technology and Humanitarian Delivery: Challenges and Opportunities for Security Risk Management

Equipment, Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, Legal Obligations, NGO Security Management, Safety

GISF teamed up with DisasterReady.org to host a webinar entitled ‘Communications Technology and Humanitarian Delivery: Challenges and Opportunities for Security Risk Management’. The webinar launches GISF’s new paper of the same title, and features engaging discussion on opportunities and challenges of communications technology in humanitarian delivery from Imogen Wall (the paper’s co-editor) and Rory Byrne (Founder and CEO of Security First).

17 Dec 2014

New technologies and data protection: are humanitarian organisations ready to face security threats of the 21st century?

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management

The increasing use of electronic data by the aid industry and growing fears about data protection emphasise the lack of clear rules for data management. In the years ahead, more will need to be done to appease fears around data protection. However, if rules and adequate security measures are established, no one can deny that technology will enable aid organisations to reach an even larger number of people in need.

15 Dec 2014

Foreign aid and counter-terrorism measures: unintended consequences for the humanitarian sector?

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues

Under the counter-terrorism framework, problematic situations extend from Colombia to Yemen through any country where one of the parties to the armed conflict is listed as a terrorist organisation. Likewise, some activities that are at the core of humanitarian action cannot be undertaken without making contact with proscribed groups. What happens then, when two ideas collide?

9 Dec 2014

Security risk management in the age of social media

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management

The killing of kidnapped British aid workers, David Haines and Alan Henning, by the Islamic state (IS) is another testimony of the security risks humanitarian personnel are increasingly facing. With the plummeting security situation in Iraq and Syria, humanitarian actors have increased their activity on social media to draw attention to their causes and to the plight of their beneficiaries. This activity, however, is putting them at an increased risk of kidnapping by militant groups.

17 Nov 2014

New project on communications technology goes live!

NGO Security Management

The objective of this project is to begin a conversation towards a better understanding of the specific nature of the security threats created by the digital revolution, and the implications for the security risk management of humanitarian staff and programmes.

23 Oct 2014

GISF – Impact of Counter-terrorism Legislation on Humanitarian Operations and Security Risk Management Webcast

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management, Policy Guidance

In this GISF webcast, Naz Modirzadeh, (Senior Fellow, HLS-Brookings Project on Law and Security, Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Engagement project at Harvard Law School), addresses these questions. She also deals with further practical implications of counter-terrorism measures, with a particular focus on the impact for those involved in security risk management for NGOs.

21 Oct 2014

World Humanitarian Day and ‘Aid in Danger’: a hard-look at violence against aid workers

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues

The aid sector will be ‘celebrating’ the World Humanitarian Day with four level 3 emergencies. On a day that commemorates the bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad we should be asking ourselves, do we need more humanitarian heroes, or do we need better responses (and better security-managed assistance) to humanitarian crises?

18 Aug 2014

ALNAP’s State of the System report

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues

The State of the Humanitarian System (SOHS) report provides a system level mapping and assessment of international humanitarian assistance. It does this by defining key criteria for evaluating system performance and progress. Every 3 years the performance of the system is reassessed against these criteria and lessons learned are shared.

13 Aug 2014

Launch of the book ‘Aid in Danger’ – Tuesday 19 August, ODI

Acceptance, NGO Security Management

GISF and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) are pleased to invite you to the launch of 'Aid in Danger: The Perils and Promise of Humanitarianism' by Larissa Fast—a hard look at violent attacks against aid workers on the frontlines of humanitarian crises.

11 Aug 2014

Event report: humanitarian action in fragile contexts

Acceptance, Civil-Military, Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, Legal Obligations, Policy Guidance, Private Security Providers, Safety

On Tuesday 8th July representatives from academia, INGOs, the private sector, journalists and other interested parties gathered at King’s College London to discuss key issues around new actors and the changing humanitarian space and how they will impact on security risk management (SRM). The focal point of the evening was GISF’s report on The Future of Humanitarian Security in Fragile Contexts, written in conjunction with the Humanitarian Futures Programme (HFP) at King’s College.

8 Aug 2014

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