The purpose of this manual is to provide human rights defenders with additional knowledge and some tools that may be useful for improving their understanding of security and protection. It is hoped that the manual will support training on security and protection and will help defenders to undertake their own risk assessments and define security rules and procedures which suit their particular situation.

This manual is the result of a long term project by PBI on field protection for defenders. We have had the opportunity to learn from and share experiences and knowledge with hundreds of defenders in the field, as well as in workshops, meetings and discussions about security. Most of the manual’s contents have already been applied in practice, either in protection work or in training workshops with defenders. This manual is the fruit of all these exchanges, and we owe the defenders involved a huge thanks for their input.

Security and protection are difficult areas. They are based around structured knowledge, but also influenced by individual attitudes and organisational behaviour. One of the key messages in this manual is to give the issue of security the time, space and energy it deserves, despite overloaded work agendas and the severe stress and fear all defenders and their organisations are under. This means going beyond people’s individual knowledge about security and moving towards an organisational culture in which security is inherent.

Knowing enough about a conflict scenario and understanding the local political logic are also key to proper management of defenders’ security. This manual contains an overall framework as well as a step by step approach for managing security. It also includes some reflections on basic concepts like risk, vulnerability and threat, and a few suggestions for how to improve and develop security for defenders in their day to day work. We hope that the topics covered will allow NGOs and defenders to plan for and cope with the increasing security challenges involved in human rights work. This said, the first thing we wish to remind all of us is that defenders risk their well-being and their lives, and this is serious stuff. Sometimes the only way to save a life is just going into hiding and then fleeing. We want to leave it very clear that all the techniques and suggestions in this manual are not, by any means, the only way to think about security issues for defenders. The manual has been written in good faith but sadly offers no guarantee of success.