Outsourcing Security in Complex Environments

Yet, the multifaceted relationship between private security companies, donors, civil society, non-governmental organisations and governments (including host governments) is often misunderstood. The focus for this short course is to examine various aspects of this relationship, difficulties encountered by contracting parties and how these can be dealt with through a professionalisation process which ultimately will enhance wider state-building processes. This course recognises the importance of establishing good practices and promoting effective systems for oversight of security actors which are consistent with human rights, and respectful of the rule of law. This requires clarifying the roles of all the actors involved in the contracting of private security and establishing a framework for PSCs operations in complex environments. This course will be particularly applicable to Security Managers or Country Managers of NGOs or International NGOs whose responsibilities include the assessment of risks of operations in contexts of weakened governance or undermined rule of law either due to  conflicts or naturally caused events. The issues of security and risks will be looked against a backdrop of the practical aspects of using private security and the issues of responsibility and liability. Guidelines and standards which underpin mechanisms for oversight will be presented. In particular, the principles of the International Code of Conduct (ICoC) will be discussed in parallel to the recent efforts to develop self-regulation in the sector in the form of standards for managing risk and delivering security while ensuring respect for human rights.