Transparency International's Defence and Security Programme (TI-DSP) works closely with governments to create policies that guarantee transparency and accountability in their defence and security establishments, and arms procurement. We can help governments and the armed forces strengthen their procurement laws, secrecy regulations, use of offsets, and personnel policies to prevent corruption.

TI-DSP helps governments to build strong and effective counter corruption policies in their defence and security establishments. We also press governments to enact meaningful reforms.  Our experts have worked closely with some states to review and develop guidelines, laws, and policies as part of a long-term reform process; in others, we have reviewed and given expert guidance on a single draft law related to these issues.

One challenge of working on defence and security issues is that transparency must be balanced with confidentiality and secrecy. There are many areas inside defence and security ministries that rightly need to be protected by confidentiality—but this can exist alongside transparent and accountable practice. TI-DSP recommends that defence ministries examine their confidentiality practices to guarantee that only that information which legitimately affects national security is classified.

In countries around the world, defence procurement has two perennial organisational issues: the competence of the professionals in the group, and the structure of the organization. As part of a reform process, TI-DSP can advise governments on how to ensure that their procurement staff is adequately specialized and the structure of the procurement body follows good practice, and is set up outside of the armed forces themselves.

Our team has published a handbook, Building Integrity and Reducing Corruption in Defence Establishments: 20 Practical Reforms, which is targeted towards government and armed forces officials. We have a team of expert consultants who can provide guidance on building strong policies and leading reform. We welcome contact from any government interested in reforming its defence and security establishments’ anti-corruption policies.

International Policy Actions

Policies in international affairs, such as the UN Arms Trade treaty, and regional collaboration between governments, for example to counter offsets corruption, are equally important. TI-DSP targets its advocacy work towards areas where our expertise and knowledge can have a strong impact. We concentrate on the global arms trade, and current policy foci are offsets agreements and the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. We advocate for strong policies on offsets and a robust Arms Trade Treaty that include strong measurements to prevent corruption.

TI-DSP’s advocacy is based on our research, which gives us in-depth knowledge of the international arms trade, its corruption risks, and ways to effectively counter them. We work closely with other NGOs and governments on these issues; we have worked closely with Costa Rica, for example, on including strong anti-corruption measures in the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty.

Read more on our Focus Areas.

Read more on Our Work.