Crisis Action works with individuals and organisations from global civil society to protect civilians from armed conflict. They are an international organisation with offices in Brussels, Johannesburg, London, MENA, Nairobi, New York, Paris and Washington DC.

Crisis Action was founded in 2004 by the pioneering campaigner Guy Hughes, who was Executive Director of Crisis Action until his tragic death in a climbing accident in January 2006. Angered by the failure of UK protests against the UK government’s decision to go to war in Iraq, Guy created Crisis Action to build mainstream coalitions that could compel the world’s most powerful people to take action to protect civilians.

They are a catalyst and convenor of joint action whose work behind the scenes enables coalitions to work quickly and effectively. As a coordinating body they seek no public profile or media spotlight; it is the voice of the coalition that matters. Their only agenda is the protection of civilians.

Their mission is to coordinate joint NGO advocacy and campaigns that help to avert conflict, prevent human rights abuses and ensure governments take decisive action to protect civilians in conflict

Crisis Action works behind the scenes to support a diverse range of partners to campaign against conflict and for the protection of civilians. They aim to amplify the impact of collective campaigning and enhance partners’ efforts to avert conflict, prevent human rights abuses and ensure governments fulfil their obligations to protect civilians.

Crisis Action operates in a flexible manner with partners choosing to engage in temporary ‘opt-in’ alliances on specific crises. The support they provide is determined by the specific circumstances of each crisis and may include warning of emerging crises and prompting early responses; sharing information and analysis; researching and analysing government policy; facilitating partner dialogue; negotiating joint policy platforms; coordinating joint action; planning and executing joint campaigns and evaluating the effectiveness of joint responses.

Crisis Action designs and delivers a wide variety of activities for partners that take place mainly in Europe, Africa, the US and the Middle East. These are designed to raise awareness about the plight of civilians and create political space for prompt and effective action. They range from high-level advocacy, targeted media work, joint work with civil society affected by conflict, collaboration with high-profile individuals and coordinating mass mobilisation.