17th IACC

The creation of global standards has been successfully implemented in different complex sectors. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), for example, established principles of good governance for the extractive industries and led to the creation of robust internal and external monitoring mechanisms. While the EITI has not been free of criticism, the multi-stakeholder approach, and the creation of global standards for transparent payment has been proven effective, with 49 implementing countries.


Global standards are meaningful in other areas, too. The tripartite International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a strong example of how a multi-stakeholder international organisation has been used to establish international norms around questions of decent work.

More significantly, and however imperfect the implementation, the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights has established a set of norms, around which the vast majority of the international community has coalesced, and provides civil society groups with a clear principle against which to judge their national governments. The reputational cost of non-compliance with the UNHR has become a source of major embarrassment for many governments and led external actors to exert greater pressure for reform.

It surprised many government and civil society representatives alike that not even basic standard exist for a sector as important as defence. Failures in governance in defence have serious implications for both domestic and global peace and stability. A lack of transparency and accountability can lead to the cross misuse of power and ultimately violent domestic responses as we have seen in a range of countries such as Egypt. At the same time, when the intentions behind the rapid build-up of military capability are opaque and public oversight is weak, the result can be regional arms races, mistrust and tensions.

This panel will discuss shared expectations of responsible military governance and examine what potential might come from formalising those expectations internationally.