Regulation, Ethics & Sector Reform

Aegis believes that the private security sector can only benefit from a constantly improving, properly regulated system of accountability and ethics.

As we face changing missions, new responsibilities and increasingly complex and dangerous environments, we recognise that the need for transparency and oversight is greater than ever.

Aegis is committed to setting and adhering to the highest ethical standards, as reflected in our Code of Conduct and Code of Business Conduct. All employees, advisors and sub-contractors sign up to an internal code of ethics that insists on integrity in all areas of commercial and personal behaviour.

We are pioneers in the private security industry – and pioneers in the regulation of our industry - setting international standards of accountability, transparency and procedure. As such Aegis was one of the companies that signed up to the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers in November 2010. Working with civil society and government agencies, we were actively involved in the development and drafting of the code, which sets robust and measurable standards for the sector. Aegis will continue to support and develop the code as it enters its secondary phase: the creation and implementation of an appropriate accountability mechanism.

We welcome and support the Montreux Document, an international agreement on the legal obligations and best practice for states relating to the operations of private security companies operating during armed conflicts, created in association with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss Initiative in September 2008 (for full details click on MontreuxDocument.pdf).

We are a founder member of the British Association of Private Security Companies (BAPSC), which lobbies for regulation of the sector in the UK. BAPSC has drawn up a comprehensive code of conduct which Aegis fully supports.

Furthermore, Aegis signed up to the UN Global Compact in April 2009, and is committed to upholding and applying its ten principles which are reflected in our Company policies, standards and guidance. Our Communication on Progress submitted in April 2011 outlines our on-going commitment to this initiative (for full details click on UNGC.pdf).

We also belong to the leading UK trade association British Expertise; the IBBC, a trade body promoting business activities between the UK and Iraq; the Private Security Company Association of Iraq (PSCAI), a non-profit group formed to discuss and address matters of mutual concern in that country; and the Security Industry Authority (SIA), which manages the licensing of the industry as set out in the Private Security Industry Act 2001.