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.
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.
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.
GISF new briefing paper Security Risk Management and Religion: Faith and secularism in humanitarian assistance examines the impact that religion has on security risk management for humanitarian agencies, and considers whether a better understanding of religion can improve the security of organisations and individuals in the field.
Humanitarian Action in Fragile Contexts: New Actors in the Humanitarian Space will take place today (Tuesday 8 July) from 17:30 to 19:00 at King’s College London, Nash Lecture Theatre (Room K 2.31), Strand Campus, WC2R 2LS
In recent years, most humanitarian organisations have established a strong online presence, using social media platforms for information sharing, awareness-raising, and civil mobilisation. Until recently, however, the use of e-tools for programming purposes has been of a fairly ad hoc, reactive nature. There are growing concerns in the humanitarian sector about the security procedures, or lack thereof, accompanying the use of communications technology and open source platforms for aid delivery.
GISF and the Humanitarian Futures Programme are pleased to invite you to a discussion on the key findings of our recent report The Future of Humanitarian Security in Fragile Contexts: An analysis of transformational factors affecting humanitarian action.
Former UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has recently stated Syria is ‘going to be a failed state, with warlords all over the place’, asserting the country will soon ‘become another Somalia’. Syria entered the top five most violent aid contexts in 2012, yet the 2013 Aid Worker Security Report (AWSR) claimed it remained to be seen whether the country would follow Afghanistan and Somalia, ‘where aid workers are used as proxy targets in … warfare’. Brahimi’s predictions provide an opportunity to briefly evaluate the current state of insecurity in the country, and its implications for humanitarian operations and security risk management.
La nouvelle publication de l'GISF, Genre et Sécurité : Orientations pour l’intégration du genre à la gestion des risques de sécurité, propose aux ONG des lignes directrices complémentaires pour intégrer la dimension genre à la gestion des risques de sécurité, afin de combler un vide dans les publications existantes et d’émettre des recommandations vitales au niveau opérationnel.
The Saving Lives Together (SLT) is a framework for improving security arrangements among IGOs, NGOS and the UN in the field and was launched by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Force on Collaborative Approaches to Security in 2006. The Menu of Options, developed in 2001 by the UN Inter-Agency standing Committee (IASC) and the Office of the UN Security Coordinator, was the first step to formalising security coordination between INGOs and the UN. The report reviews the existing NGO and UN security coordination mechanisms and practices in the field, and is based on two online surveys that were shared through the GISF network, as well as interviews of international and national staff of a variety of NGOs and staff members of the UN in eight countries.
The European Inter Agency Security Forum (GISF) is pleased to announce a new publication presenting discussion papers which will look at how communications technology is creating new security risk management challenges and opportunities for agencies working in humanitarian response. The publication will present information on current technologies and their use in security risk management; explore the impact on security of both humanitarian actors and affected communities; analyse the ways in which technologies are influencing how humanitarians operate and their security; and generate debate on how communications technology can contribute to risk management.