Law at the End of the Day: Upcoming ICoCA Webinar: "Private Security Contracting in the Humanitarian Sector: Time to Take Responsibility"

Slowly, ever so slowly, the principles and expectations of the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, and human rights and sustainability expectations generally, especially those anchored in international law, standards, and norms, are coming to the private non-economic sector, and specifically to the non-governmental organization sector. There may be little but impunity that separates the4 consequences of human rights harms when undertaken y a state, by an economic organization, or by a non-governmental organization--even one dedicated to defending human rights. Human rights based organization ought to serve, even more than state owned enterprises, as the model of organizational approaches grounded in human rights sensibilities and implemented in ways that enhance the principles of prevention, mitigation and remedy at every level of organizational functioning and within every decision or task undertaken. Auditing and accountability follow. This is especially necessary where NGOs, like their business analogues, undertake the use of security providers in undertaking their mission. d iIt is with this in mind that the following announcement from the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) may be of interest:

Last year, GISF published Module 14 of GISF’s Security To Go Risk Management Toolkit, Contracting Private Security Providers, in collaboration with ICoCA. So what impact has the toolkit had and why does humanitarian NGO contracting of private security providers continue to raise crucial questions for the sector? ICoCA, in collaboration with GISF, conducted research to better understand NGOs practices, procedures and policies vis-à-vis private security. Findings from this research will be synthesised in a report to be released and presented during the event. Amongst other questions, panelists will consider:
Why humanitarian organisations choose to contract private security providers, for what services and how do they select them?
What role do standards play in their contracting decisions?
What are the perceived and actual risks in contracting private security providers for humanitarian organisations, and how are these managed?
This webinar is open to the public. Q&A will follow the panel discussion. We especially look forward to engagement from GISF and ICoCA Members and Affiliates in contributing to this important debate.
When: October 20, 2021, 15:00-16:30 CET 02:00 PM in London)
Language: English & French (interpretation in both languages provided)

Moderator: Lisa Reilly, Executive Director, GISF

Panelists: (1) Chris Galvin, Head of Communications & Outreach, ICoCA; (2) Juliette Jourde, Research & Outreach Assistant, ICoCA/GISF; (3) Elodie Leroy-Le Moigne, Plan International, Global Security Advisor; (4) Fodeba Diallo, Red Cross, Côte d’Ivoire, Safety and Security Officer; and (5) John Davies, Director and Country Manager (South Sudan), Archer