Archive:
In this blog, Alex Marriage briefly outlines the security risks that aid workers can and have faced due to counter-terrorist financing (CTF) measures and goes on to describe the international mechanism through which CTF measures are developed and evaluated. Alex goes on to outline the recent changes to CTF recommendations and what this might mean for humanitarian NGOs.
As a study by Report the Abuse shows, only 16% of humanitarian organisations have even a single mention of sexual violence as a risk to their employees within their organisation’s policy and procedural documents, let alone a comprehensive, sensitive or survivor-centred response mechanism. Megan Nobert, Founder and Director of Report the Abuse, discusses the gaps in the humanitarian sector in addressing sexual violence against aid workers and urges humanitarian organisations to take action and put in place effective and efficient prevention and response strategies for their staff.
Zimbabwe is facing an imminent crisis that will require an international humanitarian response in the near to medium-term future, with appropriate security measures for humanitarian workers. Former GISF Coordinator, Nick Hanson-James, takes a closer look at the Zimbabwean context and issues NGOs should aim to be aware of and prepared for given the current climate in the country.
In November, GISF attended a two-part expert roundtable at Chatham House that discussed the challenges NGOs face when working with non-state armed groups, in particular given the impact of counter-terrorism legislation. This is a brief summary of the key points raised and some of the implications counter-terrorism legislation has on the security risk management of NGOs.
As an NGO, do you hire or are you considering hiring a private security company (PSC) to ensure the security of your operations? Do you implement guidelines for the hiring of private security services? How do you select a PSC? Does the contract include respect for human rights? DCAF is developing a practical Contract Guidance Tool to support humanitarian NGOs, as well as states, international organisations and other clients to include human rights-based considerations in their contracting of PSCs. DCAF believes your insights and experiences can help inform other clients in similar circumstances. Contact DCAF at ppps@dcaf.ch to get involved in this project: share your experiences and good practices, discuss what tools and guidance would be useful for you, or give DCAF feedback on their Contract Guidance Tool.
Ethiopia has witnessed months of often violent protests but the week of demonstrations leading up to the state of emergency declaration earlier this month saw increasingly violent protests spreading, raising security concerns among humanitarian organisations. This blog takes a closer look at what is currently happening in Ethiopia and the implications the state of emergency has for aid worker security.
This post discusses Larissa Fast’s book ‘Aid in Danger’ and how some of the ideas in the book can be applied to humanitarian security risk management. In her blog, Christina Wille, primarily argues that the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence are not a magic shield capable of protecting aid workers because humanitarian agencies are actors within and not separate from the contexts in which they work. Wille also argues that security incidents are not only the result of external factors affecting humanitarian agencies but that factors resulting from internal agency policy and staff behaviour also impact aid worker security. Good security risk management means taking into consideration internal factors as well as external ones.
On World Humanitarian Day the GISF commemorates the national and international aid workers who lost their lives this past year and remember the colleagues who continue carrying out humanitarian work in challenging contexts despite the risks they face.
Existing security risk management tools and procedures tend to overlook the unique security needs of lone aid workers. These staff members are compelled by their unique circumstances to rely primarily on themselves to ensure their own safety and security, and must do so by putting in place a number of basic security measures to mitigate the risk and impact of potential security incidents. This blog has been published in English and in Spanish.
The first ever World Humanitarian Summit is being held later this month in Turkey. It is being billed as a global call to action; an opportunity to change the landscape of humanitarian action and to address some of the most critical issues of our time. It is providing a platform to focus on global humanitarian needs and how we can do better for the people caught up in the numerous crises affecting the world today and in the future. It can safely be said that there are very mixed expectations regarding the outcomes, however the hope is that changes that translate into more effective humanitarian assistance will be seen as a result. The Summit presents an opportunity to continue to highlight and raise the profile of the issue of aid worker safety, security and wellbeing; reinforcing the message that if you want to deliver effective humanitarian assistance you need a competent and fit workforce, well equipped to cope with the demanding conditions they will be working under.