The purpose of the guidelines is to assist a wide range of actors on when and how to use military or other forms of armed escorts to accompany humanitarian convoys. In July 2011, the 79th meeting of the IASC Working Group requested the IASC Task Force on Humanitarian Space and Civil-Military Relations, an IASC subsidiary body, to update the guidelines. The following text is the result of consultations and collaboration between IASC members, in addition to the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and field colleagues from a variety of organisations. This updated document reflects the evolution of security risk management procedures within the UN and non-UN organisations, the increase of actors now commonly present in humanitarian operating environments, and the increasing complexities of undertaking principled humanitarian action.