A forum for participants of the Montreux Document on pertinent international legal obligations and good practices for states related to operations of private military and security companies during armed conflict.
The mandate of the ICoCA Working Group is to provide advice to the International Code of Conduct Association on national and international policy and regulatory matters (Art. 12 of the Working Practices of the MDF).
The ICoCA Working Group further constitutes a venue for Montreux Document Participants to engage with the Secretariat of ICoCA and to receive updates on the activities of the Association. The United States of America currently chairs the Working Group.
Previous Meetings of the ICoCA Working Group
6 December 2023
On the 6th of December 2023, the 15th exchange of the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA Working Group) was held aside of the ICoCA General Assembly. The discussion was attended by Montreux Document Participants (MDF participants), the co-Chairs of the Montreux Document Forum, Switzerland and the ICRC, the Montreux Document Forum Secretariat, DCAF, as well as the Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA).
7 September 2021
The 14th exchange of the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA Working Group) was attended by Montreux Document Participants, the Co-Chairs of the Montreux Document Forum, Switzerland and the ICRC, the Montreux Document Forum Secretariat, DCAF, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Executive Director of ICoCA, and a guest speaker from the OECD. The meeting was conducted in an online format, which facilitated the participation of several State representatives from capital.
18 November 2020 (13th Meeting)
The 18th of November 2020 took place the 13th exchange of the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA Working Group) that was attended by Montreux Document Participants (MDF participants), the co-Chairs of the Montreux Document Forum, Switzerland and the ICRC, the Montreux Document Forum Secretariat, DCAF, as well as the Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA).The meeting was conducted in an online format, which facilitated the participation of several State representatives from capital.
24 June 2020 (12th Meeting)
On 24 June 2020, the Montreux Document Forum organized the 12th exchange of the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA18 Working Group), and the Working Group on the use of private military and security companies in maritime security (Maritime Working Group). The meetings constituted the first Montreux Document Forum Working Group meeting in an online format, allowing representatives of Montreux Document Participants to successfully join the meeting from capital. Both meetings were as well attended by the co-Chairs of the Montreux Document Forum, Switzerland and the ICRC, the Montreux Document Forum Secretariat, DCAF. The Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICoCA could also join the ICoCA Working Group meeting.
The meeting allowed for updates from the Chairman of the Board of ICoCA and the Executive Director on the recent activities and the several impacts of COVID-19 on the private security industry and how the ICoCA could provide support to its members during the pandemic.
Download the Chair’s Summary of the meeting
Download the presentation held by Mr. Jamie Williamson, Executive Director of the ICoCA
2 September 2019 (11th Meeting)
On 2 September 2019, Montreux Document Participants, the Co-Chairs of the Montreux Document Forum, Switzerland and the ICRC, the MDF Secretariat, DCAF, as well as the Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ICoCA gathered for the eleventh exchange of the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA Working Group). The Meeting allowed for updates from the Chairman of the Board of ICoCA and the Executive Director on the recent and future activities as well as the Strategic Plan of the Association.
29 November 2018 (10th Meeting)
The tenth exchange of the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association was held in Geneva on 29 November 2018. The meeting allowed to recall the background of the establishment of the ICoCA Working Group, and to discuss the five goals as laid out in the draft ICoCA strategic plan, as well as to begin collecting ideas for the next stage of the plan: developing measureable objectives and identifying activities to achieve those objectives.
6 June 2018 (9th Meeting)
The ninth exchange of the ICoCA Working Group was intended to serve as an opportunity to engage with the Executive Director regarding the Association’s work to produce a strategic plan for the ICoCA’s future operations. A questionnaire was circulated to Montreux Document participants in advance, giving delegations the opportunity to provide written feedback to inform the strategic plan. The Chair thanked those Montreux Document participants who provided responses to the questionnaire. The meeting of the Working Group also served to provide updates to the ICoCA’s activities.
20 April 2018 (8th Meeting)
The meeting served as an opportunity to engage with the Executive Director of the ICoCA regarding the ICoCA's work to produce a strategic plan for the ICoCA. The Chair welcomed Montreux Document participants to provide views to the Association regarding a number of aspects of the Association's future operations. These response were submitted to the Secretariat electronically via the elaborated questionnaire or during the next meeting of the Working Group on 6 June. Download the Chair's Summary.
11 October 2017 (7th Meeting)
During the meeting, Montreux Document participants discussed and provided feedback to the ICoCA on the proposed amendments to the ICoCA Articles of Association (Transitional Membership and Certification and to the Certification Procedure (ICoCA Recognition Process for Certification Bodies). Download the Chair's Summary here.
6 July 2017 (6th Meeting)
Participants recalled the proposal for the Working Group's interaction with the ICoCA (the guidelines) and discussed timing of meetings, potential for experts' participation in meetings, and the operational context of PMSCs under the Montreux Document. States and international organisations participating in the meeting also heard a presentation on updates regarding the ICoCA from the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Download the Chair's Summary here.
Chairmanship: Sweden (2015-2016)
7 September 2016 (5th Meeting)
During the meeting, the Chair recalled the previous discussion of 17 June 2016 whereby the Working Group discussed that in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Working Practices of the MDF, the ICoCA Working Group could provide advice and feedback on the Draft Procedures on Articles 12 and 13 of the ICoCA Articles of Association in the event that the procedures interacted with national law or policy. Following a briefing from the Executive Director of the ICoCA, Montreux Document participants has the opportunity to discuss the draft procedures related to 'Reporting, Monitoring, and Assessing Performance and Compliance' and 'Receiving and Processing Complaints.' Download the Chair's Summary for more information.
17 June 2016 (4th Meeting)
Montreux Document Participants received updates related to the ICoCA. The discussion focused on Articles 12 (Reporting, monitoring and assessing performance and compliance) and Article 13 (Receiving and Processing Complaints) of the ICoCA Articles of Association. Additionally, a representative of the Transport Agency of Sweden was invited to share information on the Swedish legislation regarding the authorisation of the use of armed security personnel on board Swedish-flagged ships.Download the Chair's Summary for an overview of the presentation.
28 January 2016 (3rd Meeting)
States and international organisations participating in the meeting received a presentation from the Executive Director of the ICoCA regarding updates on current activities within the Association, in particular on its work for the elaboration of certification, monitoring, reporting and complaints procedures. Participants also shared their experiences on the status of national regulatory procedures and processes for the regulation of private military and security companies.During this meeting, there was also discussion among attending representatives that the Working Group could, if it so wished, engage in further dialogue with the Association between Working Group meetings. On this basis, questions regarding the current activities in the Association could be posed more regularly by Montreux Document participants. It was proposed that participants who wish to put forward written questions to the Association on these issues should send those questions to the Chair of the Working Group. Download the Chairs’ Summary for more information.
2 June 2015 (2nd Meeting)
Participants of the meeting discussed and finalised the Chair’s written proposal for the Working Group’s interaction with the ICoCA (the guidelines). For further dialogue among participants, one delegation proposed additional discussion questions for circulation amongst the Working Group. The Chair of the Working Group on the ICoCA welcomes further feedback from Montreux Document participants on these questions. More details of the meeting can be found in the Chair’s summary of the second meeting.
16 December 2014 (1st Meeting)
The first meeting was held in conjunction with the MDF Constitutional Meeting. For details of the proceedings, download the Chair’s Summary of the first meeting.
Other relevant links:
DCAF Public-Private Partnerships Paper Series:
