Archive:
This paper by Julia Brooks (2016) presents an overview of key challenges and dilemmas faced in the protection of humanitarian action and aims to provide an initial overview of the legal, policy, and operational trends and issues identified by ATHA…
A guide designed by Hostage UK (2010). Having a family member kidnapped can be a frightening experience. You will need support, information and advice. This guide offers practical pointers on how to cope and where to look for further information.…
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.
The starting point of this paper by Jean S. Renouf (2016) is the observation, on the one hand, of the deterioration – in relative and absolute terms – of humanitarian actors’ security operating in complex environments, and, on the other…
The humanitarian principles — humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence — are under increased scrutiny and pressure. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an increased understanding of the perceived and actual challenges humanitarians face in operational contexts as…
World Vision’s Office of Corporate Security has created this video to increase awareness and preparedness amongst it’s staff. Active shooter incidents are on the rise around the world and this video is intended to help you stay safe as you…
On 29 June 2012, Steve Dennis, an employee of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), was injured and kidnapped, along with three other colleagues, following an attack during a VIP visit to the IFO II refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. Four…
Sexual violence against and within the humanitarian and development community is only an emergent problem in the sense that it is finally beginning to be openly discussed. Ranging from harassment to unwanted touching to rape, sexual violence in humanitarian and…
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.
The Holistic Security manual adopts an explicitly ‘holistic’ approach to security and protection strategies for human rights defenders by integrating and highlighting the interrelatedness of digital security, psycho-social well-being and organisational security processes. The manual (2016) is designed to guide…