| The Blue Sky Group Foundation was set up specifically to provide high level risk assessment, advice, planning, training and operational infrastructures to enable non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in international development and aid activities to operate in relative safety and security.
NGOs are finding it increasingly difficult to move around the world in safety. Internal dissent has become the norm in much of the developing world. Conflict has become more widespread and complex. NGOs can no longer rely on the Geneva Convention or the Rule of Law for protection. UN delegations abroad are now routinely targeted by terrorist organizations; the sign of the Red Cross is no longer a passport to safe passage; and more than 1000 members of the media have been killed in the course of reporting worldwide in the past decade. 9/11 has only exacerbated these trends. NGOs have traditionally resisted engaging formal security assistance on either ethical or economic grounds. And armed guards are not necessarily a guarantee of independence or safety - quite the reverse in many cases. What is needed is a more strategic, holistic approach to security - at a price NGOs can afford and justify.
The Foundation operates to a published Code of Conduct under the close scrutiny of an Ethical Overview Committee consisting of Martin Bell, international broadcaster and UN special representative; Harry Langstaff, senior partner at McKinsey's Consulting; and Sir Rupert Smith, ex UN commander and NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. In keeping with the Foundation's aims and ethos, services are provided to qualifying clients on a one-to-one bespoke, non-for-profit basis.
The Foundation's not-for-profit services are offered to organisations involved in international development activities such as peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction and retraining; and the security and support of humanitarian aid agencies operating in remote and/or hostile regions of the world. In addition, the Foundation is involved in providing security advice and support for associated neutral organisations involved in these activities e.g. international media organisations.
The Foundation draws on the collective experience of the whole Blue Sky Group which has component companies providing strategic security consulting for corporate organisations; defence consultancy & training support; and a security executive placement agency. These are backed by partnerships with companies providing specialist support, including such diverse services as (for example), electronic monitoring, maritime security, mine clearance, emergency air evacuation, and so on.
The Foundation (or its Blue Sky antecedents) is, or has been, involved in:
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Blue Sky successfully provided the staff and operating framework for the international ceasefire monitoring operation in Aceh, Indonesia in 2002/3 - the first, and so far only, example of an international peacekeeping operation 'outsourced' to a private company. |
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Blue Sky provided an air bridge and safe haven for humanitarian aid agencies operating in Afghanistan 2002, and is still involved with UN operations in that country. |
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Blue Sky is widely engaged in the provision of strategic risk assessment, security advice and management/monitoring for corporate organisations worldwide. |
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Blue Sky is also involved in a wide range of security training. |
Neither The Foundation, nor any part of the Blue Sky Group, operate with organisations unlikely to be recognised as legitimate by HMG or the Group's own strict ethical standards. Blue Sky do not get involved in the provision of training of personnel actively engaged in, or directly preparing for, armed conflict. |
