Future Security Trends: Implications for Human Rights

Agents of Chains: The Role of Responsible Recruitment in Securing Security Personnel from South Asia

After a career in the Gurkhas and Singapore Police, Ian Gordon founded his own private security company, IDG Security, an ICoCA Certified Member Company with operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Myanmar. So what are the pitfalls in recruiting private security personnel from South Asia, and how does Ian avoid these? We talk to Ian about the powerful role agents play, and how this is leading to third country nationals contracted as private security guards ending up as bonded labourers in many complex environments.

Resilience within International Aid and Development: Helping Humanitarians Realize Responsible Security

In the fourteenth episode of ICoCA's podcast series we talk to Mike Blythe, Chief Operating Officer at Risk and Strategic Management, Corp (RSM). With a background in the military, Mike has decades of experience helping humanitarian actors with their security needs and recently completed a PhD on the topic. We ask him about his research and what his experience working with humanitarian agencies and NGOs has taught him about how the sector approaches risk, resilience and security. 

Understanding the Private Security Sector: How Data Can Inform and Professionalize the Industry

In the 13th episode we talk to Simon Pears, Chair of the International Professional Security Association (IPSA). Simon is implementing a plan that could potentially provide IPSA with key data about the treatment of frontline security personnel around the world. So why is this important, and if successful, how might this data inform policy and practice related to the private security sector and human rights across different jurisdictions? 

Human Rights & Human Resources: The Role of Training and Vetting in Responsible Security

In the twelfth episode we talk to Stella Kagwi, Group HR Coordinator for WS Insight, an ICoCA Member Company with operations across Africa, about why and how human resource management plays such a critical role in the provision of responsible security.

 

A Future For Mining In The DRC: The Role of Responsible Security

Richard Robinson is a Senior Advisor for GardaWorld. His vast experience has seen him working in and across all sectors, corporate, non-profit and government. He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spent the last two decades there, which included setting up one of the largest tin mines in the world in a remote region of North Kivu. So what have his experiences working for and contracting private security companies in DRC taught him about the role responsible security can play in settings renowned for corruption and conflict?

Understanding Mercenaries: War, Wagner and Why We Should Care

Candace Rondeaux, Professor of Practice at the School of Politics and Global Studies and a Senior Fellow with the Center on the Future of War at Arizona State University, shares her insights on the rise of Russian mercenaries, including the Wagner group, in various conflicts around the world. What's driving the increasing prevalence of mercenaries, and what, if anything, can be done to reign in these actors to ensure human rights and International humanitarian laws are respected? 

Human Rights and Women in the Private Security Workforce

In the first episode of the second series, we talk to two members of the ICoCA Board of Directors, Jo Anthoine, Director of Risk and Welfare, GardaWorld and Michelle Quinn, Senior Vice President, Patriot Group International. Why did they choose careers in the private security sector? What has their experience been of the challenges and opportunities women face in a male-dominated industry. How and why do private security companies and the communities in which they operate, benefit by bringing more women into the workforce?

The Future of Compliance: Why Clients Count

We talk to Jonathan Drimmer, a Partner at Paul Hastings law firm and Strategic Advisor with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights to find out why companies should care about human rights and the risks they face if they ignore these risks. Jonathan shares his insights on the challenges organisations face in ensuring human rights compliance throughout their global operations and supply chains. So why is private security so central to this, and what trends should we look out for in the years ahead? 

Accountability in the Private Security Sector: Past, Present and Future

In Episode 7, we talk to Dr. Christopher Kinsey, Reader at Kings College London, who has spent the last twenty years researching and writing on the subject of private security. Dr. Kinsey describes how the private security sector has changed since he started his research, and how accountability mechanisms have developed during this period. So what are the different regulatory models at play, and where does international law fit in? 

The Future of Slavery: Private Security and the Human Cost of Cost Cutting

To find out why modern slavery persists in the private security sector we talk to James Sinclair, Executive Director of Ethical Innovations and one of the Co-Founders of FSI Worldwide, an ethical recruitment company with its roots in the private security space. Why have modern slavery and the private security sector become intertwined and what can be done to stop such practices in the future? James, a practicing lawyer and serial entrepreneur who is also currently pursuing a PhD on this subject, shares his insights.