Seoul, Republic of Korea – Threats to civilians in emergencies around the world are steadily growing, and humanitarian aid workers are no exception. Unabated attacks on aid workers on the humanitarian frontlines continue to not only compromise their personal security and integrity but also hamper humanitarian responses.

The IOM Republic of Korea (ROK) Mission, with support from the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted the ‘Security Awareness Induction Online Training’ on 8 to 9 June 2021. The training was organized to strengthen the ability of ROK humanitarian workers to prevent and respond to possible risk situations during their field missions. Due to the current pandemic situation, the event was delivered fully online with live lectures and group discussions.

The training was led by three UN-certified security experts from IOM Office of Staff Security (OSS) Bangkok and Headquarters - Maricar Purugganan Adkins, Security Policy and Training Coordination Officer; Hakan ‘’Hokki’’ Salo, Regional Security Officer; and Thitiwan Vijitsopha, Regional Security Support Officer.

“IOM is one of the leaders in delivering security trainings. This training will greatly help the ROK NGO participants to build knowledge of personal security and safety in field environments, which is an important baseline for successful delivery of humanitarian assistance on the ground.” said Dr. Nenette Motus, IOM Regional Director for the Asia and the Pacific in her opening remarks.

William Wairoa-Harrison, IOM Director of the Office of Staff Security added, “Security awareness is one of the most important programs delivered in the UN system. I am glad that we can roll out this program online amid the pandemic for ROK humanitarian professionals, and I am confident that this will be undoubtfully beneficial for all the participants at both personal and organizational levels.”

The first day was aimed at building the knowledge of the participants on the security risks in hostile field environments and how to enhance their personal security awareness. The trainer explained the potential security risks when working in the field and the basic principles of personal security awareness and security risk management. The lecture was followed by a group work, plenary discussion and closed with Q&As.

On day two, the course focused on enhancing the awareness and knowledge about the preventive and mitigating measures for hostage incidents. Lectures covered the probability of hostage incidents in a field mission and the measures to decrease its likelihood, to enable the participants to effectively prevent and cope with the aggression. Attendees were encouraged to actively interact with the trainers through live polls and online group communication platform.

The course was also supplemented by pre-assignments such as a scenario-based individual exercise and completion of BSAFE by the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UN DSS).

A total of 20 Korean NGO workers, especially who are scheduled to be dispatched or to travel to the field attended the training and 19 completed.

Since 2015, IOM ROK has been providing capacity-building support for ROK humanitarian actors with financial support from USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). The training was organized as part of this capacity-building support program.

For more information, please contact Eunice Jieun KIM, IOM Republic of Korea Mission, Tel.: +82 70 4820 0291, Email: jikim@iom.int.