Human Security
Human Security Brief 2007 - We Are Winning!
22/05/08 09:45
The Human Security
Brief 2007 has been released. It challenges
the conventional doom and gloom we've become so
used to hearing. Maybe, just maybe, the voices
of reason are winning.
You can also listen to a webcast of
Andrew Mack's press conference to discuss the
report. Sorry but you'll need RealPlayer. Note to UN
- why can't you use a non-proprietary format?
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Centre for Monitoring Election Violence - Sri Lanka
09/05/08 08:27
The Centre
for Monitoring Election Violence is
monitoring the election in eastern Sri Lanka.
They are using the emerging standard, Twitter
updates mashed with google maps, a blog, and
mobile phone access to spread the word. Even if
you are not interested in the elections you
should check it out in case you need to do
something similar in your own country.
CMEV is comprised of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) the Free Media Movement (FMM) and INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre. Despite financial constraints they plan to field 330 stationary monitors at selected polling centres across the Eastern Province along with 49 Mobile Teams.
CMEV is comprised of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) the Free Media Movement (FMM) and INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre. Despite financial constraints they plan to field 330 stationary monitors at selected polling centres across the Eastern Province along with 49 Mobile Teams.
Avaaz
15/04/08 15:59
The problem with being a security officer is that you
spend much of your time dealing with the dark side of
human nature. War, conflict, crime, accidents,
violence, deceit, and trauma are all part of the
daily grind. Every now and then its good to raise
ones head out of the muck and mire and look for
something positive. For me Avaaz.org
is one of those things.
"...we keep them alive, until they are massacred."
09/04/08 07:44
The Carnegie Council has an interesting presentation
by Jan Egeland, former UN Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs, in which he introduces his
book, "A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report From the
Frontlines of Humanity". Its all good but a couple of
quotes really caught my attention.
Jan Egeland on the need for more than just humanitarian aid:
Jan on humanitarian security in a post UN Bahgdad bombing world:
You can watch a video excerpt of the presentation below.
If you have good bandwidth you can watch the full video presentation...
or you can listen to the audio archive...
or if your connection is very slow take a look at the transcript.
Jan Egeland on the need for more than just humanitarian aid:
"...in the old days, they said, "Send the Marines." Now it's, "Send the humanitarians. They will keep them alive, and we can maybe forget about it." Well, we keep them alive, until they are massacred."
Jan on humanitarian security in a post UN Bahgdad bombing world:
"...it is a watershed when we go from just preparing ourselves to survive in crossfire with militias, with child soldiers, with drunken soldiers, with mines, and so on—we have lots of procedures to survive in such circumstances, but we do not know how to survive when a well-financed, ruthless organization plans for one month to kill you."
You can watch a video excerpt of the presentation below.
If you have good bandwidth you can watch the full video presentation...
or you can listen to the audio archive...
or if your connection is very slow take a look at the transcript.
Private Security Companies and Local Populations: An Exploratory Study of Afghanistan and Angola
08/04/08 08:08
The Swiss Peace Foundation has released a new working
paper titled "Private
Security Companies and Local Populations: An
Exploratory Study of Afghanistan and
Angola". Issues surrounding Private Security
Companies (PSC's) and NGO security are a hot
topic these days. This paper may give you
insight as to what your beneficiaries may think
about PSC's. The attitudes of your beneficiaries
have a direct impact on your organization's
acceptance.
Has the World Become a More Dangerous Place?
17/03/08 20:02
Is the world a more dangerous place to live now than
it was ten years ago? How about a hundred years?
According to this first video the answer is yes. In it the University of Hawaii examines the complex issues of armed conflicts, peace-keeping operations and humanitarian relief with the input of former UN and government officials, humanitarian aid workers and PKO experts.
In "A Brief History of Violence" Steven Pinker argues the opposite. His data suggests that we are living in what might very well be the most peaceful time in human history.
So who is right here? Is the world safer? How do our cognitive biases shape our perceptions of the risks we face now versus those faced by our ancestors?
According to this first video the answer is yes. In it the University of Hawaii examines the complex issues of armed conflicts, peace-keeping operations and humanitarian relief with the input of former UN and government officials, humanitarian aid workers and PKO experts.
In "A Brief History of Violence" Steven Pinker argues the opposite. His data suggests that we are living in what might very well be the most peaceful time in human history.
So who is right here? Is the world safer? How do our cognitive biases shape our perceptions of the risks we face now versus those faced by our ancestors?
Unreported World - Sri Lanka Killing for Peace 2007
17/11/07 07:26
This video by Sandra Jordan and Siobhan Sinnerton is
an excellent summary of the security situation in Sri
Lanka.
Widgets, Advocacy, and Human Security
11/11/07 18:44
John Bell’s post, “Nonprofit
Widgets in the Age of OpenSocial” got me
thinking about how to use widgets to support
advocacy for human security, humanitarian
access, and the security of aid workers. I’m not
a coder but luckily many websites can help
generate widgets based on content selected by
the user. The “Selected News” sidebar on this
page is an example of such a widget.
The people search engine Spock lets you create similar Flash and JavaScript widgets based on the search results you use. On my Demo page you can see three widgets based on the search terms “death by firearm”, “murdered aid worker” and “murdered journalist”. The content is a little sparse for the last two terms but I’m hoping to work with Spock to change this. These ideas only scratch the surface. How about a widget that rotates images of detained activists... missing persons... great humanitarians,,, kidnapping victims? The possibilities seem endless.
Of course there are other widget options. If you’re looking to do some fundraising organizations like the Network for Good can help you create a custom widget. They call them badges. Beth Kanter used one to help her raise funds to send young Cambodians to university. If you go to her blog and scroll down a little you can see the widget in the sidebar.
If you have any ideas you want to share please leave a comment.
The people search engine Spock lets you create similar Flash and JavaScript widgets based on the search results you use. On my Demo page you can see three widgets based on the search terms “death by firearm”, “murdered aid worker” and “murdered journalist”. The content is a little sparse for the last two terms but I’m hoping to work with Spock to change this. These ideas only scratch the surface. How about a widget that rotates images of detained activists... missing persons... great humanitarians,,, kidnapping victims? The possibilities seem endless.
Of course there are other widget options. If you’re looking to do some fundraising organizations like the Network for Good can help you create a custom widget. They call them badges. Beth Kanter used one to help her raise funds to send young Cambodians to university. If you go to her blog and scroll down a little you can see the widget in the sidebar.
If you have any ideas you want to share please leave a comment.