MSR Part 4: Information Sharing and Informed Consent
The IFRC has a Duty-of-Care obligation to ensure personnel are informed of the risks, and processes in place in order to deal with those risks. This ensures that managers and other personnel have the information they need to make informed decisions.
Incident Reporting
Minimum Requirements: Personnel must report security incidents to their managers immediately, and Senior Manager must report them to the RSC, with copy to GSU, within 48 hours. However, incidents involving death, serious injury, kidnapping or which are particularly sensitive, must be reported to the GSU by telephone immediately and followed up with a written incident report within 24 hours, with copy to RSC, using established incident reporting procedures.
Information sharing
Minimum Requirements: All personnel (under IFRC security management responsibility) must be informed promptly when there is a change in the security risk assessment, security regulations and contingency measures/plans (as defined in the MSR). Time must be allocated in routine staff meetings allowing personnel to raise and discuss security issues.
Security Welcome Brief Document:
Minimum Requirements: All offices and field operations must have a written Security Welcome Brief within two weeks of opening an office or start of an operation unless an exemption is provided by the GSU. The document must be written using the standard template available from the GSU and must be made available to personnel before they travel.
Security Briefings – All Personnel
Minimum Requirements: Newly recruited personnel and personnel travelling to an IFRC office or field operation, must receive a security briefing within 24 hours of start/arrival and must not undertake any field movements until this is done. Personnel travelling to Orange or Red Phase areas are to take contact with the corresponding RSC (or the GSU) in order to arrange for a briefing before undertaking travel.
The security briefing must include the following elements:
Information on the security hierarchy and line management, as well as their emergency contact numbers.
Information on the risk, based on the security risk assessment and register, and informed of any specific threats to the Red Cross Red Crescent.
Information on the risk mitigation measures, including a copy of the security regulations.
Information on the contingency measures, including a briefing on the relocation and medical plans.
Information concerning off-limit areas and any curfew that is in place.
Any aspects of cultural awareness that could impact the security of staff.
At the end of the mission, a security debriefing is required.
Security Briefings – Senior Managers
Minimum Requirements: Senior Managers must receive a comprehensive security briefing prior to each deployment. This briefing may be provided by the GSU or by the appointed security delegate (such as the RSCs). The security briefing must include all the elements above as well as details of ongoing incidents and potential or emerging issues, any incidents of PSEA or outstanding debts / legal proceedings that the IFRC may be facing in that particular location that could impact the security of IFRC staff.
Travel Security:
Minimum Requirements: In addition to the above, personnel travelling abroad for work must have completed the following before travelling:
Obtain travel approval from their line manager and the Senior Manager at the destination. If there is no delegation at the destination, approval must be obtained from the Senior Manager at the Country Cluster level.
Obtain the Security Welcome Brief from the office they are visiting or the relevant cluster office.
Successfully complete the eLearning course “Stay Safe Personal Security Course”.
Fill out the e-travel form (if used by your office.)
On arrival all staff are recommended to read the full IFRC security plans and are required to sign the document at the end of the IFRC Security Regulations named Acknowledgement of Risk.