About Us
Companies today are working in increasingly complex environments and face a wide variety of challenges that endanger their operations and staff, as well as the rights and dignity of the communities in which they operate. In order to ensure security, resilience, and sustainable development in these environments, multi-stakeholder engagement, both nationally and regionally, is imperative. Whether you work in a company, a government, an NGO or a research institution in the field of responsible business conduct, the DCAF-ICRC partnership works to support you by:
- Bringing together a universe of tools and guidance on business, security and human rights: Check out the Toolkit for companies on "Addressing Security and Human Rights Challenges in Complex Environments" available in English, Spanish, French and Chinese.
- Publishing innovative and practical case studies on the management of security and human rights challenges: Check out our Case Studies.
- Providing comprehensive information on in-country processes on business, security and human rights.
The resources provided by the DCAF-ICRC partnership are complementary to other multilateral initiatives and provide general guidance for stakeholder engagement. The DCAF-ICRC partnership aims to foster a multistakeholder approach to improve the coherence and effectiveness of development projects in business and security. It also endeavors to link various actors and initiatives with the view of increasing leverage through collective action.
To accomplish this, the DCAF-ICRC partnership engages with diverse international standards, organisations and multistakeholder initiatives including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) responsible business conduct workstream, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs), the Montreux Document Forum and the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA).
Examples of projects include:
- The multistakeholder working group in South Kivu, linking VPs implementation with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains.
- Partnerships with Queen’s University and the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights to develop tools and guidance for companies.
- Partnerships with the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals Minerals & Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC) and Renmin University of China, to study Chinese stakeholder’s needs on the topic of business and security management and develop training modules, specifically tailored to addressing security risks in complex overseas environments.
The Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) is dedicated to improving the security of states and people within a framework of democratic governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights. DCAF’s Business and Security Division seeks to bridge the gap between security sector reform and promoting responsible business conduct by developing innovative multi-stakeholder solutions to security challenges. The DCAF-ICRC partnership emerged as a collaboration aimed at supporting this objective.
Contact: bsdivision@dcaf.ch
