Welcome address

Thank you Admiral Tighe, and many thanks to our US host. I am pleased and honoured to welcome representative of nations, international organisations and civil society to the 2013 BI Conference. This is the third BI Conference. There are a number of familiar faces, but I am especially happy to see the BI network continues to grow. The BI Programme is open to NATO, PfP, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Countries as well as partners across the globe.  For the first time, all are represented at the 2013 BI Conference.

A very special thank you to the US Office of the Secretary of Defence, represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defence, Dr. Jim Schear, the team here on the ground from the Defence Resources Management Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School. This Conference is conducted every 2 years and has become a regular event on the NATO calendar. It underscores our common efforts to moving the NATO agenda forward on good governance in the defence and security sector.
 
NATO is a community of values, committed to the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This includes civil and democratic control of the armed forces that provide effective security and offer value for taxpayers. All nations attending this conference are faced with the challenges of reforming, renewing and strengthening operational and institutional capabilities to meet the challenges that confront us in an increasingly interconnected world. The importance of developing both operational and institutional capacity is highlighted by the NATO Secretary General in his 2012 Annual Report.

Education is a key agent for transformation and capacity building. From the beginning, Allied Command Transformation has been closely associated with the BI Programme. The close working relationship between staff based in Norfolk and Brussels has led to a number of concrete results, most importantly the BI education and training plan agreed by the North Atlantic Council in August 2012. This provides the foundation for a systematic and sustainable approach to building capabilities for Allies and our partners. We   are   at   early   stages   of   implementation,   identifying   requirement authorities and mapping resources and more needs to be done.  I am very pleased to note the announcement made by the Norwegian Minister of Defence establishing a BI Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector in Oslo. This is a real enhancement to our network of implementing partners. We see the Centre in Oslo playing an active role in the further implementation of the BI Education and Training Plan and look forward to working closely with the newly appointed Director and his team.

BI was launched in 2007 as part of NATO’s commitment to defence institution building. Good practice knows no boundaries and from the outset the tools of the BI Programme have been used by partners and Allies alike to strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity. The programme is demand driven; the activities and expert teams are composed as required, to meet the needs of nations.   Its success relies on having access to subject matter experts and support provided by our implementing partners working together in a community promoting good practice. I am pleased to see  a  number  of  our  subject  matter  experts  as  well  as  implementing partners with us for this conference.

The economic climate makes tough choices even tougher. From the outset the BI programme has focused on providing practical support; embedding good governance into our defence institutions and structures, and building smart institutions in an age of austerity. While there are a number of initiatives  to  promote  good  governance  in  other  sectors,  the  NATO
 
mandate and expertise in the defence and security sector is unique.  Within NATO my division is responsible for the design and implementation of the BI programme and this conference provides a valuable opportunity to share NATO’s experiences in assessing risk and capacity building, especially where these are linked to operations. We start from the position that we can all learn from each other and the experience of other international organisations, civil society and the private sector, will contribute to developing a more effective BI programme.

The  discussions  at  the  Lisbon  and  Chicago  Summit  highlighted  the strategic and operational importance of strengthening transparency, accountability and integrity in the defence and security sectors. Let me say a few words about our tailored programmes for Afghanistan and South Eastern Europe. The basic concept is straight forward: assess the current situation, identify the gaps and build capacity through good practice.

The BI tailored Programme for Afghanistan is focused on enhancing transparency, accountability and integrity in the ANSF and support the commitments made by the Afghan government at the Chicago Summit and Tokyo Conference. These efforts are aimed primarily at enhancing management  of  financial  and  personnel  resources.  This  includes  the establishment of a BI Centre to support the professional development of individuals and embed the BI curriculum in Afghan educational institutions. Given the challenging environment, development and implementation requires close cooperation with our Afghan counterparts and alignment with NATO military. We are very appreciative of the Afghan and NATO colleagues who have travelled from Kabul.

The tailored programme for South Eastern Europe brings together NATO members and partner nations for the common purpose of building more effective institutions that serve the people. Developed in close collaboration with the South Eastern Europe Defence Ministers Process, the BI tailored programme for South Eastern Europe was launched at NATO HQ in December of last year. The programme for 2013 includes events in Sarajevo, Sofia and Belgrade. Though tailored for South Eastern Europe, the events are open to all members of the EAPC.

I am very pleased to welcome for the first time participants from Middle East and North Africa. Our BI Programme is demand driven. It  is your decision whether you think this is of interest and benefit  to your authorities. But I am encouraged by the prominent presence of representatives of Middle East and North Africa.
 
The conference welcome packs provide more details about the tailored programme and the BI achievements. I prefer to focus on the future. NATO will soon end its biggest operation. What will NATO do next and how will we do it? We will continue to respond to crisis whenever and wherever the Allies judge their security interests are at stake. This remains our core business. To do this we need to maintain our operational edge and range of capabilities. This includes developing defence and security institutions that promote good practice, are accountable and offer value for money. It also means understanding corruption as a security risk and embedding our response into all phases of NATO-led operations.

This   conference   is   not   a   decision   making   body.      However,   the BI conference has a track record of bringing recommendations forward to the  appropriate  body  and  turning  ideas  into  action.     The  Defence Resources  Management  Institute  has  already  agreed  to  develop  a 2nd volume of “Best Practices”. I hope that the discussions over the next few days will be help us further mainstream BI and embed it into NATO and national planning systems:

Let me share with you some thoughts on three of the areas that I hope will be reflected in the conference recommendations:

• Given our experience in Afghanistan and elsewhere, perhaps it is time to consider the development of a NATO military policy to complement the BI education and training plan. This would embed BI into all phases of military planning.
• We have developed very good civil-military working arrangements.

I think it is time now to consider how these ad hoc arrangements can be strengthened and more established through the creation of a civil-military task force. This will be especially helpful in the ongoing work to understand the strategic impact of corruption, better align the BI contribution to operations and take forward the recommendations expected to result from the research undertaken on behalf of Commander ISAF.

• Finally, what can we do to strengthen practical cooperation with international  organisations  and  civil  society  to  promote  good practice?  While reconstruction and stabilisation comes to mind, we should have a wider perspective and also should be thinking about crisis prevention and capacity building, as well as sharing good practice in areas such as pre-deployment. 

Finally let me say a word about nations supporting this work.  The BI programme is supported through voluntary contributions to the BI Trust Fund. Launched originally by 3 nations, as of January this year it is now led by six nations – Belgium, Bulgaria, Norway, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. No other Trust Fund has increased its base in this way. Overall,   the   BI   programme   is   supported   by   financial   and   in-kind contributions from more than 20 nations.   I would like to thank all the nations for their contributions; and the six lead nations in particular for their continued political support for the Building Integrity Programme.

Now let me turn to our Keynote Speaker, General Paloméros, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.   We are very pleased to welcome General Paloméros to the 2013 Building Integrity Conference.  ACT has a long  association  with  Building  Integrity,  as  both  your  predecessors, General Mattis and General Abrial, have addressed this conference and provided support and advice on an ongoing basis. The development of the BI   Education  and  Training  Plan is  a  considerable  step  forward   in mainstreaming BI into the NATO and national systems.   This would not have  been  possible  without  ACT  support  and  I  would  like  to  use this
occasion to express appreciation to you and your team for your expertise and leadership.  Education and training are key to building capabilities and we look forward to our continued collaboration. 

General you have the floor.