Caring for the Caregiver:
A New Initiative in NGO Security Management Training

In his article entitled, “Rethinking Humanitarian Security” (2005), Harvard University’s Pierre Gassmann refers to a “paradigm shift” in the threats and risks facing international humanitarian organizations in the twenty-first century. In ever-increasing numbers, aid agencies are operating in inhospitable regions, facing new threats and risks, and suffering increased casualties as a result. “Aid workers are instructed by their agencies to weigh security risks against the urgency and importance of their mission, but are seldom given the know-how and skills to make the appropriate, and often life saving, security management decisions” (Gassmann, 2005).

Recognizing the urgent need for security management training, a consortium of academic institutions in California commissioned a team of security professionals specializing in the safety of international humanitarian aid workers to develop the curriculum of a training course in INGO (International Non-Government Organization) security management. Included in the consortium are the Naval Post-Graduate School, the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and California State University – Monterey Bay. This initiative was undertaken with a view toward offering training in security management to senior managers from several leading INGOs in a pilot program scheduled for the Spring of 2006.

The four-day training course will involve a mix of theoretical classroom instruction and practical field exercises, to be conducted at the urban training facilities at the former Fort Ord in Monterey, California. Participants will acquire skills in all aspects of security management through a series of realistic exercises that simulate conditions of danger and risk typically found in the INGO operational environment. A related objective of this training is to foment greater awareness by the NGO community of the impact other major actors involved in complex humanitarian emergencies have on the security of their personnel in complex humanitarian emergencies (e.g. the militaries and international organizations) and how greater interagency communication and understanding can help to lessen
the risk.

Following the dictum that “good communications is the first principle of effective security management”, the course will offer specialized instruction in the use of state-of-the-art communications and collaboration technology modeled in part after systems developed and field-tested by various branches of the United States Armed Forces and adapted for INGO use. Participants will be asked to assess the relevance of this technology for their specific operational needs. Representatives of the U.S. military and international organizations will be invited to participate in the discussions on the applications of these communication and collaboration technologies in non-permissive conflict and post-conflict environments.

This initiative is predicated on the general understanding and agreement that humanitarian aid workers, in their selfless service to the world’s poor and marginalized, are exposed to more danger and insecurity today than at any other time in the history of the industry. As INGO field managers learn how to manage security effectively, making informed decisions around the safety of personnel and the protection of assets, lives will be saved and casualties reduced. There is no more noble and higher purpose than this.

References
Gassmann, P. (2005, June 30). Rethinking humanitarian security. Humanitarian Practice Network, 30, 32. Retrieved November 2005 from http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?ID=272