The CARE International Safety and Security Principles (Principes de Sûreté et de Sécurité/ Principios de Seguridad) are designed to capture the most essential elements of CI’s approach to staff safety and security.

Principle 1 - All CARE International Confederation Members will hold themselves accountable for maintaining and respecting the CARE International Safety and Security principles through their policies, protocols and procedures.

Every CI member is responsible to develop a culture of safety and security awareness and responsibility within its staff. Individual responsibility must be viewed as the foundation for organizational safety and security standards. Enforcement of safety and security standards must be exercised at each level of line management. The Safety and Security Principles, implemented through safety and security policies, protocols and procedures, are the foundation of CARE’s ability to exercise its mandate.

Principle 2 - Safety and security is everyone’s responsibility within CARE International through full compliance and accountability.

All CI members are responsible for ensuring safety and security best practice. Although each staff member bears personal responsibility for her/his own safety and security, senior management will exercise leadership and guidance to require the highest level of due diligence from all staff.

Principle 3 - Program and program support decisions must be informed by appropriate safety and security considerations at all levels.

Operational parts of CI shall ensure that action plans are consistent with safety and security policies and that safety and security functions are adequately resourced.

Safety and security practices shall be incorporated in all phases of the program cycle including program identification, design, planning, implementation and, and evaluation phases.

Principle 4 - There must be clear lines of authority and decision-making mechanisms that underpin safety and security.

Line management at all levels must ensure that safety and security policies are understood and taken into account and appropriate procedures are developed. Functioning emergency procedures require the creation and rehearsal of crisis management team protocols, with back-up plans and clear lines of authority.

Principle 5 - All CARE International Confederation Members will comply with the Minimal Operating Security Standards (MOSS).

MOSS constitutes the foundation of all CARE policy and operating standards and procedures with regard to safety and security considerations. All CARE deployment in the field shall be planned and executed according to the provisions of the Minimum Operating Security Standards (MOSS):

• Standard 1: Organizational Security Policy and Plans
  CARE International Confederation Members shall have policies addressing key security issues and formal plans at both field and headquarters levels to address these issues.

• Standard 2: Resources to Address Security
  CARE International Confederation Members shall make available appropriate resources to meet these Minimum Operating Security Standards.

• Standard 3: Human Resource Management
  CARE International Confederation Members shall implement reasonable hiring policies and personnel procedures to prepare staff to cope with the security issues at their post of assignment, support them during their service, and address post-assignment issues.

• Standard 4: Accountability
  CARE International Confederation Members shall incorporate accountability for security into their management systems at both field and headquarters levels. CARE International Members shall develop clear lines of responsibility for decision-making with regard to staff security and delegate to employees charged with those responsibilities the authority to ensure compliance. Establishing clear lines of responsibility and authority, as well as systems and structures for implementation of the organization’s security policies, plans, and procedures helps ensure that these are observed.

• Standard 5: Sense of Community
  CARE International Confederation Members shall work in a collaborative manner with other members of the humanitarian and development community to advance their common security interests.

Principle 6 - CARE staff will be equipped, trained and supported in the area of safety and security, appropriate for the safety and security conditions of their assignment.

Staff will have appropriate safety and security training before they are deployed to their areas of operations or before they begin their job responsibilities. This includes national and international staff. They must have the awareness and skills commensurate with the safety and security environment to which they will be exposed.  Although some safety and security procedures and processes may be unique to either national or international staff, it is essential to CARE’s mission that CARE staff are adequately prepared.

To download the Safety and Security Principles in PDF format, please click here.

The Safety and Security Principles (Principes de Sûreté et de Sécurité) are available in French and in Spanish.