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 goal of the Montreux Document Forum is to improve the governance of the Private Military and Security Industry.
Montreux Document Forum thus seeks to support national implementation of the Montreux Document, as well as to bring more states and international organisations to actively support it. The MDF further aims to strengthen dialogue on lessons learned, good practices and challenges related to the regulation of PMSCs.
The Montreux Document Forum previously gathered all Montreux Document participants in an annual plenary meeting. After 2020, and to ensure better implementation of the norms and good practices entailed in the Montreux Document, it was agreed to move away from plenary meetings in favor of a more focused technical assistance to States in implementing the Document at the national level.
In 2024, the co-chairs and the MDF Secretariat decided to develop a Community of Practice (network of regulatory authorities) and a new online platform to address national regulatory challenges in monitoring PMSCs and to provide a space for discussions on technical matters. The online platform has now been established and was presented in September 2024.
The Forum is co-chaired by Switzerland and the ICRC, who are supported by DCAF acting as the Montreux Document Forum Secretariat and the Group of Friend of the Chair in the performance of their tasks. In-depth thematic discussions are held in two working groups, the Working Group on the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) and the Working Group on the use of private military and security companies in maritime security.
Secretariat functions are performed by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
