Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

2011

This Workbook has been inspired by the hundreds of HRDs from over 50 countries who have attended Front Line’s workshops on security and protection. These HRDs have been able to continue their work because they have taken steps to manage their security. They have assessed their situation in a systematic way and developed strategies and tactics which best suit their unique environment. The Workbook is based on the Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders1, discussions with security specialists, and the contributions from workshop participants and other HRDs on-the-ground in difficult environments who have discussed risks with us and shared their survival strategies.

The Workbook takes you through the steps to producing a security plan – for yourself and for your organisation (for those HRDs who are working in organisations). It follows a systematic approach for assessing your security situation and developing risk and vulnerability reduction strategies and tactics.

We know from working with HRDs in countries around the world that there is usually a very high workload and limited resources. Steps to manage security can sometimes be put to one side because there never seems to be enough time, or because HRDs think they must consider the people they work for rather than themselves.

However, HRDs who have invested time and energy in developing the capacity to manage their security tell us that it is worth it, both because it can reduce the threat of human rights work being disrupted by a security incident and because it reduces stress and assists people to be more effective in their work.

We have included a chapter on stress and wellbeing in the Workbook. This is because HRDs tell us that they experience huge amounts of stress due to many factors, including workload, expectations, threats, and traumatic experiences. Being stressed can considerably reduce your ability to be secure and lead to burnout. We hope this chapter will help you to manage your stress better.

Going through this Workbook will take some time, but it is not meant to be a theoretical piece of work. It is designed to raise your awareness about security issues and to help you consider how to mitigate threats.

Along the way we have included examples of simple tactics that HRDs have used to make themselves more secure. We hope these examples – whilst not necessarily being directly relevant to your own unique situation – will inspire you to think creatively about how to reduce the risks you face so that you can continue the essential work you do in the safest possible way.