Security incidents against NGOs have increased alarmingly over the last few years. The predominant reason seems to be that NGOs are increasingly seen as part of the Western agenda.

Most NGOs have decided mainly upon the acceptance strategy when working in unsafe areas. Key elements of the acceptance strategy are contacts with the local community and other state and non-state actors, communication of a humanitarian mandate, and cooperation with local partner organisations.
 
There seems to be a trend towards more protective and deterrent measures. "Bunkering yourself in" is regarded by many as a serious option and some NGOs even consider the use of armed guards or vehicles.
 
NGOs working in unsafe areas do not exist in a vacuum. The actions of one NGO can have an effect on the entire humanitarian community. Furthermore, a shift towards protection, or even deterrence of one, will have an impact on all.

We organise the NGO Security Conference 2010, Acceptance: Limits and Possibilities, to create awareness of the threat to the acceptance strategy and to create a platform for the discussion on the appropriate strategy.

Date:                          April 15th, 2010

Venue:                       Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Conference fee:         € 125,- (incl. VAT)

Conference programme:

Click this link to read the programme.

Registration:

To register, please fill in the application form by clicking the following link: Application Form.

Contact:

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Esther Heidekamp (Programme Manager) at telephone number +31 (0)33 463 0293 or via esther@centreforsafety.org.

CSD is a non-profit foundation specialised in safety and security for humanitarian organisations worldwide. We believe that sharing security knowledge and skills enables other humanitarian organisations to work in unsafe areas in order to reduce human suffering and bring about a better world. CSD received a CEDEO-certificate for high quality training courses. CEDEO is part of Lloyd's Register Group (read more about CSD).