- Know how to behave at checkpoints, in the event of carjacking or abduction.
- Respond to explosive devices and assaults.
- Report an incident and manage stress.
1Checkpoints, carjacking and armed robbery
- Checkpoint: slow down early, switch on the interior light at night, keep hands visible, stay calm and polite, present your documents, hide nothing, take no photos, offer no money. Report your passage by radio.
- Carjacking or armed robbery: do not resist. Property can be replaced; lives cannot. Move slowly, announce what you are doing, hand over what is demanded, do not stare at the attackers.
- After the incident: get to safety, alert your focal point, seek medical help if necessary.
2Abduction and explosive devices
Abduction: the first few minutes are the most dangerous. Do not resist, stay calm, obey simple orders, look after your health (eat, drink, move), keep a routine and keep hope. Your organisation has a crisis management procedure: trust it.
Explosive devices and explosive remnants of war (UXO, mines): stay on roads and paths that are in use; if you see a suspicious object: do not touch, move away by the same route, mark the area if it is safe to do so and report it to the authorities and mine action actors.
Gunfire: get down, take cover behind a solid obstacle, wait until it stops before moving.
3Sexual violence and health
In the event of a sexual assault against a staff member, the organisation must offer confidential support. The HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kit must be taken as soon as possible, within 72 hours at the latest; know where it is stored.
Health: up-to-date vaccinations, malaria prevention, safe water, known insurance and medical evacuation plan.
4Reporting and taking care of yourself
Every incident, including a near miss, is reported promptly to your security focal point: who, what, where, when, and what was done. Reports make it possible to adjust the risk analysis for everyone; some organisations share them anonymously with security forums.
Cumulative stress and traumatic stress are also security risks: an exhausted professional makes poor decisions. Sleep, take breaks, stay in touch with your loved ones, talk about it, use the psychological support on offer.
To go further: the free UN online course BSAFE and, before a posting in a very dangerous area, practical HEAT/SSAFE training.
The checkpoint and the carjacking
Rural road
You are a passenger in an organisation vehicle, in the late afternoon.
An improvised checkpoint appears after a bend. Armed men signal for you to stop.
Decision 1 of 3What do you do as you approach the checkpoint?
Decision 2 of 3They demand the vehicle. Your reaction?
Decision 3 of 3Once you are safe, what do you do?
Key takeaways
At the checkpoint: calm and transparency. Faced with a weapon: do not resist. Afterwards: get to safety, get care and report.
Exercise: incident report
Imagine that one of your organisation's vehicles has been stopped and robbed on a road. Write a ten-line incident report: date, time, place, people involved, sequence of events, damage, action taken, recommendations. Check where your base's PEP kit is kept and who your security focal point is.
Key points
- At checkpoints: stay calm, hands visible, documents ready, no photos and no money.
- Robbery or carjacking: never resist.
- Suspicious object: do not touch, move away, mark, report.
- PEP: as soon as possible, within 72 hours at the latest.
- Every incident, even a near miss, is reported; stress is a risk to be managed.
Further reading: course references
- Humanitarian Practice Network (ODI) (2010). Good Practice Review 8: Operational security management in violent environments. odihpn.org/publication/operational-security-management-in-violent-environments-revised-edition
- GISF (2024). Global Interagency Security Forum (GISF) resources and training. gisf.ngo
- International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) (2024). Security analyses for NGOs. ngosafety.org
- IASC / United Nations Security Management System (2019). Security Risk Management framework. interagencystandingcommittee.org
Daily quiz
3 questions to check what you have learned. Answer them all to complete the day.