Load low-bandwidth site?
Help

Blogs and Articles


Filter library

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.

Blog 2014

New Briefing Paper: Security Risk Management and Religion

Acceptance, Humanitarian Programmatic Issues

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.

Blog 2014

Security risk management for humanitarian operations and open-source social media platforms

Equipment, NGO Security Management, Policy Guidance

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.

Blog 2014

Launch of GISF Report - Tuesday 8 July, King's College London

Acceptance, Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management, Policy Guidance

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.

Blog 2014

The ‘State’ of insecurity in Syria

Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management

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.

Blog 2014

Nouvelle publication de l'GISF: Genre et Sécurité

Gender

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.

Blog 2014

“Saving Lives Together”: a review of existing NGO and United Nations security coordination practices in the field

Acceptance, Civil-Military, Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management, Policy Guidance

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.

Blog 2014

Communications technology and humanitarian delivery: challenges and opportunities for security risk management

Equipment, Humanitarian Programmatic Issues, NGO Security Management, Policy Guidance

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.

Blog 2014

NGO Safety and Security Training Project: How to Create Effective Security Training for NGOs

NGO Security Management, Policy Guidance

In the late 1990s, InterAction, along with RedR and USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), developed a curriculum and course materials for safety and security training. These materials quickly became the basis of NGO security training. However, it has been over 16 years since then and some of the course materials are outdated. With funding from USAID/OFDA, InterAction in partnership with the European Interagency Security Forum (GISF) undertook a project in 2013 to update existing curriculum and course materials, as well as to address gaps in current NGO security practices. This report is the product of that project.

Blog 2014