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12 Ways to Adopt Physical Security Measures

How to Adopt Physical Security Measures: What is physical security? Why is it a necessary condition?
A safe and secure environment requires the physical security of civilians (host nation and international), critical infrastructure, public forums, and key historical or cultural sites.
Under this condition, civilians are largely free from persistent fear of grave threats to physical safety, including national and host nation leaders, international aid workers, returnees, women, and children.

Protecting people and critical places is vital to preventing a renewal in violence and keeping the peace process and delivery of services on track. Attacks on certain groups of civilians or assassinations of key leaders can invite retributive attacks from opposing parties, leading to escalation of large-scale hostilities. Similarly, attacks against key cultural or religious symbols can quickly reignite violent conflict. Violence against critical infrastructure can disrupt delivery of vital services and sow panic.

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How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

1. Approach: Security of Vulnerable Populations

Vulnerable populations can include any individual or community of people that is particularly subject to imminent and persistent physical attack. This often includes disenfranchised groups, women, children, minorities, displaced people, elderly, people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as host nation leaders, judges, and aid workers, who may be targets of political violence. Protecting these groups is vital for preventing suffering and ensuring human rights while also strengthening confidence in peace in the eyes of the people, neighboring countries and the global community.

2. Respect the boundaries of humanitarian space and understand humanitarian principles of independence, humanity, impartiality, and neutrality.

Humanitarian organizations will operate with these core principles in mind, some more strictly than others. Those providing physical security must facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments, equipment and personnel from impartial humanitarian agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Recognizing the impartial domain of humanitarian assistance providers helps ensure the safety of those delivering the services and the effectiveness of that delivery. Humanity refers to the goal of alleviating human suffering in all circumstances, protecting life and health, and ensuring respect for the individual. Impartiality refers to the principle that humanitarian assistance must be based on need alone, without regard to nationality, race, religion, class, or politics. While the concept of neutrality is more widely disputed, many humanitarian organizations, including the ICRC, use it to mean it will not take sides in hostilities or engage in controversies involving politics, race, religion, or ideology. Independence refers to the autonomy of humanitarian actors from the actions or policies of any government, so that they are able to adhere to these principles.

How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

 3. Ensure that the UN mandate includes the obligation to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.

The protection of civilians from physical violence, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, is a vital function of S&R missions. Civilians and international workers are increasingly the direct targets in armed conflict and make up the bulk of casualties. Require the protection of civilians under immediate threat of physical violence in the UN mandate, along with wounded or sick combatants who no longer partake in the armed conflict. The most vulnerable groups are often refugees, IDPs, women, and children. When deciding to return to minority areas, refugees and IDPs care first and foremost about their personal security. Women also require unique attention, having often borne a disproportionate share of the consequences of violent conflict.

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How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

4. Protect vulnerable public officials.

Many public officials become targets for assassination by those who oppose the peace process. These include local political leaders, judges, prosecutors, defense counsels, or any individual who is willing to take risks for peace or has a role in ending impunity or implementing unwanted reforms. Establishing close protection programs for these individuals may be necessary to ensure their safety, including special convoy arrangements for travel, bodyguards, and other security measures.

5. Address all aspects of landmines.

The presence of landmines wreaks havoc on civilian populations long after warfare has ceased. These weapons exist in the form of unexploded ordnance (UXO), antipersonnel mines (APM), and antitank mines. Some APMs are designed to injure rather than kill their victims, which creates an increased burden on society, prolongs memories of conflict, and impedes healing and reconciliation processes. Wider effects include restricting the freedom of movement and hindering international trade. Protecting the population will require emergency de-mining and UXO removal, marking mined areas that have yet to be cleared and mapping minefields to provide a baseline for clearance operations. Other means of enhancing civilian protection from these threats include the following:
  • Educating people on the risks of mines to prevent casualties through mass media campaigns, posters, television spots, and radio messages
  • Assisting victims by providing aid, relief, comfort, and support to reduce physical and psychological trauma
  • Destroying stockpiles of APMs.
  • Clearing minefields also has critical impacts on international troops that need access to all parts of the mission area when carrying out their tasks, including maintaining critical supply lines. The sharing of landmine master maps with key actors is critical.

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6.  Coordinate across military, law enforcement, and civilian actors to provide security. 

Military, police, and civilian actors in a mission all play a role in protecting civilians. Concerted and coordinated action must therefore be mainstreamed into all planning and execution. Coordination should include UN humanitarian agencies and NGO partners, which also play a major role in civilian protection. All interactions among these actors should be conducted transparently to protect humanitarian boundaries.

How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

7. Approach: Protection of Infrastructure

Infrastructure protection is an essential and wide-reaching responsibility that includes securing structures and sites that are vulnerable to attack: critical public infrastructure such as roads, port facilities, and telecommunications systems; historical, cultural, or community institutions like churches, schools, graveyards, mosques, and museums; markets and other public places; and international military installations or relief agency headquarters. Protect these structures to ensure that attacks do not inflame wartime tensions and that the population has access to assistance.

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8.  Protect and promote safety of cultural and historical sites to mitigate conflict.

 Protection of cultural sites and resources can prevent renewal of fighting and build the trust of the population. Many groups take immense pride in their cultural institutions, such as museums and libraries that house collections of ancient objects, archives, books, and art. Other sites of significance can include religious structures, graveyards, or natural resources. By protecting these entities, the mission and/or host nation demonstrates respect for the people, who are more likely to reciprocate with trust. Be prepared to provide protection from attacks, while also ensuring that no damage is done to archaeological sites when constructing infrastructure such as building roads, digging canals, or putting up cellphone towers.

How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

9. Protect high-value infrastructure targets to prevent disruption to peace.

Critical economic infrastructure vulnerable to sabotage by spoilers is a prime object of attack in S&R environments. To enable humanitarian assistance and economic recovery efforts, protection is essential for key government installations and for transportation, telecommunications, and other essential infrastructure. Additionally, securing courthouses involving high-profile legal cases is a recurring requirement.

10. Approach: Protection of War Crimes Evidence

The protection of war crimes evidence is an immediate priority to ensure that evidence will be admissible for use in war crimes prosecutions. Evidence can include mass graves, buildings used as interrogation facilities, or testimony from people. Documenting evidence is an enormous task requiring significant investment of resources in personnel to conduct fieldwork.

How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

11.  Prioritize witness protection programs to ensure willingness of people to testify.

People who witness crimes become victims of threats and intimidation to themselves and their families. Protecting these individuals is key to giving witnesses confidence to come forward to testify against criminals so that justice can be served. Protection can include physical security of individuals and their families, including relocation and psychosocial support.

How to Adopt Physical Security Measures

12. Move quickly to secure crime sites to avoid tampering or sabotage by spoilers.

Wartime perpetrators seeking to protect themselves will try to sabotage evidence in any way they can. Sometimes the host nation population will tamper with evidence inadvertently in an effort to memorialize loss. Because the military is often first on the scene, soldiers must be prepared to identify, secure, and preserve evidence of war crimes effectively so it can be used in courts or tribunals for war crimes. This process may include creating an atrocity reporting system; documenting evidence; protecting witnesses; and assisting in the investigation, arrest, and transfer of suspected criminals. Technologies may also play an important role in identifying the location of bodies and graves or photographing crime scenes.

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