Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

Usually, PBI-BEO suggests a training in two parts: The Introductory Workshop (2 or 2 and a half days) and the Advanced Workshop (around 4 days).

The Introductory Workshop aims at getting familiar with the tools of risk assessment. Risks are divided in their components: threats, vulnerabilities and capacities. Risks are assessed both from their political point of view and from their practical point of view. Following this, the different aspects of the security plans including: prevention, emergency and during the implementation of their works, are looked at. The security plans take different facets into account at least: the attitude, the activity, the mandate, the premises (office, house).

The Advanced Workshop is usually given after a period of 8 to 12 months to address security from an organizational point of view and to tackle problems that might have arisen while the organizations were developping their own security plan.

During which process, our staff usually remains available for remote consultancy.

However, it is also possible to tailor our workshops to fit the needs of the different requests we have.

Sample objectives and content of the Introductory Security Training

Objectives:

1.- To share knowledge and experiences on both the basic and some specific concepts of protection and security management for NGOs (HRD and social organizations), and tools to transmit them to the above mentioned entities.

2.- To improve the knowledge and the necessary skills to make a global assessment of the protection and security policy of an organization.

3.- To improve the knowledge and the necessary skills to help the institutional changes in order to improve both the policy and the implementation of protection and security in organizations.

4.- To share experiences in the management of the security by HRD.

Content

• How do we make a context analysis and a stakeholders mapping in protection? Who is who? Interests and responsibilities in relation to protection of the defenders.
• How do we analyse the risk of a defender or an organization? Threats, vulnerabilities, and capacities.
• How do we assess threats and security incidents?
• How do we develop a vulnerability - capacity profile of an organisation or a person?
• How do we develop a security plan for implementation? (to deal with threats, to reduce vulnerabilities, to increase capacities)
• How do we assess the security level of offices and houses?
• How do we manage the security of information? Current developments and possible alternatives.
• How do we ensure that security issues will become included in the work agenda of human rights organisations

Sample objective and content for the Advanced Security Training

I.- How to conduct a general assessment of the security management of an organisation/area.

By the end of this block, the participants will be able to make a general assessment of the different components of a security policy and see how it applies to their organization/area. They will also be able to see the results of the implementation of the security plan :

• Making Informed Decisions About Security and Protection
• Global security management (implementation of security wheel)
• Organisational Image (Role Play + Debriefing+ Brainstorming)

II.- How to facilitate the institutional changes towards the improvement of the protection and security policy

By the end of this block, the participants will be able, together with the people directly concerned, to plan and facilitate a process of institutional improvement of the security management:

• How the security management can be improved
• Setting objectives and aims
• Facilitating the necessary process
• Who starts the organizational review of security?
• Who will manage the improvement in organisational security?
  
• Usual Organisational Structures
• Handling Security
• Diagnosis of necessary improvement
• Institutional and individual resistances
• Compliance with security norms
• Obstacles and inhibition to the improvement of security management

III.- How to draft a security plan for the organization

On the basis of the risk analysis, the participants will deepen the tools acquired in the Introductory Training and will draft a security plan going through its different elements.

IV. Enhancing some specific elements of security management

By the end of this block, the participants will know the details of some aspects of security management. Also, the participants will be able to develop specific security protocols. We will work on the topics that will be chosen by participants. Examples from other workshops:

• Prevention and Reaction to Attacks
• Improving Security at work and home. How to reduce risks of office raids.
• Security Protocols for specific cases