Abstract
This chapter provides practical advice aimed at guiding international organizations in the implementation of the duty of care principles emerging from this book. It underscores the importance of international organizations having competent individuals capable of carrying out on-going risk assessments that will need to be taken into consideration in building and modifying policies and setting up control measures to eliminate or mitigate risks. With a view towards prevention and protecting the traveller or assignee, the chapter explores health and medical risks, safety and security risks, road traffic safety as well as hotel safety. The section on pre-travel arrangements addresses activities which need to be carried out prior to departure and underscores the importance of the traveller’s briefing. The section on incident management focuses on the importance of an emergency plan, and the identification of headquarters and site-level emergency management teams within the organization. The need for an organization’s comprehensive ability to deal with medical emergencies is explored and the final section addresses the training and equipment necessary to support the provision of an adequate level of duty of care.
Annex II—the Table of Cases—can be accessed online here: http://extras.springer.com/.
David Gold, Ph.D., Senior Consultant, International SOS Foundation; Former Senior Official, International Labour Office; Managing Director, Gold-Knecht Associates, Genolier, VD, Switzerland, david.gold@gold-knecht.com
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- 1.
See Annex I, Guiding Principles on the Implementation by International Organizations of their Duty of Care Obligations towards their Civilian Personnel.
- 2.
UN Security Management System (UNSMS), Security Policy Manual Chap. 4, Sect. A, 2016.
- 3.
Competence is defined by the UK Health and Safety Executive as the combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge that a person has and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely. Other factors, such as attitude and physical ability, can also affect someone’s competence. See http://www.hse.gov.uk/competence/what-is-competence.htm. Accessed 23 March 2017. This definition would equally apply to the individual carrying out risk assessments for international organizations.
- 4.
UNSMS 2016, Chap. 4, Sect. A, para G.19.a.
- 5.
Ibid., Chap. 4, Sect. B, Annex F.
- 6.
The author has used this methodology in different parts of the world from training workers to initially assess risks in their workplace to training senior managers. As a former Senior UN Official his opinion is that the HSE method is relevant and effective for international organizations.
- 7.
Based on the (UK) Health and Safety Executive 2017.
- 8.
Ministry of Manpower, Singapore (2012) Workplace Safety and Health Council. https://www.wshc.sg/files/wshc/upload/cms/file/2014/RMCP_2012.pdf. Accessed 17 March 2018.
- 9.
Adapted from UNSMS 2016, Chap. 4, p. 5.
- 10.
The ILO sets the stage within its Convention on Occupational Safety and Health: ILO (1981) The Occupational Safety and Health Convention (C155). www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312300:NO. Accessed 10 March 2017. In Part 2, Principles of National Policy Article 4 it states:
-
1.
Each Member shall, in the light of national conditions and practice, and in consultation with the most representative organisations of employers and workers, formulate, implement and periodically review a coherent national policy on occupational safety, occupational health and the working environment.
-
2.
The aim of the policy shall be to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work, by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
-
1.
- 11.
ILO C155.
- 12.
- 13.
This section is based, in part, on Gold et al. 2016.
- 14.
A cost benefit ratio was calculated on the cost of pre-travel health checks. For every dollar spent invested in the programme there was a benefit that ranges from $1.60 to $2.53. See Prevent 2014, Sect. 7.4, p. 37.
- 15.
WHO, Stress at the workplace. http://www.who.int/occupational_health/topics/stressatwp/en/. Accessed 21 February 2018.
- 16.
Alhola and Polo-Kantola 2007, pp. 553–567.
- 17.
This issue has been studied in the case of private companies, showing how SD leads to decreased efficiency and rising risks, and that this can largely apply to the personnel of an international organization (as SD joins with other stress factors such as deployment to high-risk areas). See Fryer 2006.
- 18.
Gold et al. 2016.
- 19.
The list is drawn from Gold et al. 2016, p. 37.
- 20.
Lindh et al. 2012, pp. 1–9.
- 21.
ILO R164.
- 22.
Directive 89/391/EEC, Article 6.
- 23.
- 24.
- 25.
The list is drawn from Gold et al. 2016, p. 3.
- 26.
Gold et al. 2016, p. 23.
- 27.
UN Systems 2016, pp. 1–2.
- 28.
Gold et al. 2016, p. 23.
- 29.
Gold 2013.
- 30.
US Department of Education 2010, p. xviii.
- 31.
UN Secretariat (2013) Administrative Instruction: Official Travel ST/AI/2013/3, Sect. 3, para 3.10.
- 32.
Although many of the subjects are similar to those covered in the previous section on Travellers’ briefing (See Sect. 13.2.3.1 above) the training component sets the foundation for both the briefing and the more advanced courses by as providing generic information to all travelling officials whereas the briefing is destination and potentially situation-specific.
- 33.
UN Secretariat 2013.
- 34.
This list is designed by the author based on his experience working in medium-to-high-risk countries for a UN Specialized Agency and subsequently working with an assistance provider. Additional detail has been provided to the topics which would be further expanded into a curriculum and could be discussed in more detail.
- 35.
Gold et al. 2016, p. 23.
- 36.
ILO C155.
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WHO (2002) The World Health Report: Environmental Risks, Road Traffic Injuries. http://www.who.int/whr/2002/chapter4/en/index7.html. Accessed 17 March 2018
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Gold, D. (2018). Practical Measures in the Implementation of the Duty of Care by International Organizations. In: de Guttry, A., Frulli, M., Greppi, E., Macchi, C. (eds) The Duty of Care of International Organizations Towards Their Civilian Personnel. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-258-3_15
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