The Use of Private Security Providers and Services in Humanitarian Operations
Executive summary
As conditions of insecurity continue to challenge international humanitarian operations in many countries around the world, aid organisations have adopted a number of different measures in response. Among the most controversial of these measures has been the contracting of commercial entities to provide security services for operations and personnel. In the highly sensitive and sometimes polarised debate on the issue, two contrasting opinions are often heard. One side sounds the alarm that the privatisation of security seen in military and diplomatic ventures has begun to creep into relief assistance, evoking images of armed international mercenaries and the prospect of a highly militarised, unprincipled and unaccountable humanitarian response. The other side dismisses it as a non-issue or at best a ‘sideshow’, entities is minimal and too circumscribed to warrant attention. Neither of these arguments captures the reality, which is complex and evolving. However, to date, it has been difficult to get an accurate picture of the extent to which these entities are used in humanitarian operations, primarily because it is a topic that very few aid organisations want to discuss openly.
