In The Secretary General’s Annual Report 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that “good governance and integrity are at the core of the Alliance.” He continued by recognizing that “corruption and poor governance complicate the security challenges that NATO Allies and partners face. They undermine democracy, rule of law and economic development, but also operational effectiveness, and erode public trust in defence institutions.”
As stated in the founding document of NATO, the Washington Treaty (1949), the Alliance is bound by the shared values of individual liberty, human rights, democracy and the rule of law. NATO is a values-based organization, promoting the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability and empowering peace and democracy. In order for NATO to remain a community of freedom, peace, security and shared values, we must strengthen our free institutions by promoting conditions of stability and well-being.
The July 2016 Warsaw NATO Summit Communique highlighted that “corruption and poor governance are security challenges which undermine democracy, the rule of law and economic development.” In order to focus on this area, NATO endorsed the Building Integrity Policy, which reaffirmed the conviction that “transparent, accountable defence institutions are fundamental to stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and essential to international security cooperation.”
The Building Integrity Policy defines integrity, in institutional terms, as directly linked to good governance. Some of the guiding principles of Building Integrity within NATO include that it is a demand-driven programme that is tailored to meet the needs of individual countries; there must be national ownership, support and self-assessment; a focus on long-term institutional reforms; and development of national Building Integrity capabilities and focus.
To facilitate the implementation of The Building Integrity Policy, NATO has developed some key resources. The publication of the Handbook on Building Integrity in Operations in 2020 and the development of a Military Concept for Building Integrity in Operations in 2021 demonstrate NATO’s commitment to embedding integrity considerations within military strategies. The Building Integrity Action Plan, approved in February 2021, charts the programme’s course for the next four-year period, emphasizing its continued relevance and impact.
In a world where security challenges are increasingly complex, NATO’s Building Integrity Programme demonstrates the Alliance’s commitment to fostering integrity within defence and security sectors. As NATO continues to adapt and evolve, the programme’s impact is poised to grow, contributing not only to the security of participating countries but also to the global stability we all strive to achieve.