The guidelines presented have been designed to help Irish Aid's NGO partners to fulfil their duty of care responsibilities towards their own staff, most especially through an enhanced implementation of their own existing governance processes and in view of their legal obligations as employers. They have been drafted with the active input of the Dóchas Humanitarian Aid Working Group and are based on extensive research carried out by Mr. Christopher Finucane and Mr. Maarten Merkelbach, two leading experts in the field of aid worker security, on behalf of Irish Aid.