Global Guardians in a World of Growing Unrest

Guardians of Global Safety, Defense, and Preservation

In times of crisis and chaos we rely on our guardians to preserve, protect, and defend us against the dangers that may lie ahead.

Global Dangers: Risks, Threats, and Hazards

"Planet Earth is facing an increasing number of existential threats on so many different levels. Examples of these accelerating and constantly mutating dangers relate to environmental issues (climate and ecosystems), social issues (wealth inequality and mass immigration), economic issues (recession and depression), political issues (lack of trust and corruption), cyber issues (AI and the singularity), health issues (healthcare and pandemics) and military issues (nuclear threat and World War III) etc." - Preservation of Planet Earth (P.O.P.E.)

Global Guardianship, Stewardship, and Leadership

Life on Planet Earth is increasingly viewed in terms of a global village as the world becomes more and more connected through the use of technology. In 2024 the safety, defense, and preservation of our planet is not only a serious concern for all of its current inhabitants but also for future generations to come. Preserving this planet of ours requires the engagement of multi-faceted stakeholder groups including international bodies, governments, business entities, civil society organizations, academia, local communities, and individuals. Safeguarding requires guardianship, which involves setting standards, providing guidance, supervising behavior, and holding actors to account in order to ensure appropriate direction, guidance, and oversight. Global guardianship involves global stewardship and global leadership. Global guardianship is no small task.

Global Guardians as Preservers, Protectors, and Defenders

Guardianship includes the social, moral, and ethical duty to preserve, protect, and defend stakeholder value (in its many forms) against the dangers of value destruction (including acts of self-destruction). Typically, guardianship responsibilities include due diligence in addressing the critical components of any safety, defense, and preservation program (i.e. governance, risk, compliance, intelligence, security, resilience, controls, and assurance). Currently no single body has the sole responsibility for global guardianship as this responsibility is shared among various national, international, and business actors who possess varying degrees of legitimate power, authority, jurisdiction, and influence.

National and International Guardians

National and international activities and responsibilities are increasingly intertwined, interconnected, and interdependent.

National Guardians

At a national level the role of safeguarding, defending, and preserving the nation and its inhabitants is typically the responsibility of governments, civil society, and the private sector. Individual governments are responsible for establishing, managing, and maintaining appropriate government bodies to adequately preserve, protect, and defend their respective nations from the potential impact of risks, threats, and hazards. Standard government departments typically include Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense, Health, Education, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Transport, and Environment etc. This guardianship process can include the establishment of regulatory bodies, gatekeepers, and a variety of watchdog roles in the form of agencies, institutes, and associations. National governments may also attempt to expand their sphere of influence beyond their own national boundaries, and this can take the form of bi-lateral or multi-lateral international agreements resulting in political, economic and military alliances etc.

International Guardians

At an international level guardianship roles can extend across several different areas depending on the jurisdiction, authority, and responsibility of the bodies concerned. Therefore, the guardianship focus of certain international bodies may be far more wide-ranging than others. The following international body does however have a special role to play as a guardian of global safety, defense, and preservation:

• United Nations (UN) | Antonio Guterres, Dennis Francis | www.un.org

[Under the UN system a number of entities have an important role to play, and examples include the following: UN Security Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent international organization and is not part of the UN system however it has a cooperation agreement with the UN.]

Examples of other significant geo-political forums, economic entities, and military alliances with varying guardianship responsibilities include the following:

• Group of Seven (G7) | www.g7italy.it
• Group of Twenty (G20) | www.g20.org/pt-br
• BRICS International Forum | www.bricsforum.in
• European Union (EU) | Charles Michel, Ursula von der Leyen, Roberta Metsola | european-union.europa.eu
• African Union (AU) | Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Moussa Faki, Fortune Z. Charumbira | https://au.int/
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) | Kao Kim Hourn | https://asean.org/
• MERCOSUR | Santiago Pe?a | www.mercosur.int
• League of Arab States | Ahmed Aboul Gheit | www.leagueofarabstates.net
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) | Jens Stoltenberg, Rob Bauer | www.nato.int
• Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) | HE Haitham Al Ghais, Shakir Mahmoud A. Al Rifaiey | www.opec.org

Business Guardians

The business world does not operate in a vacuum and is not immune to the effects of these global dangers as they impact on people, profit, and planet. The following represent examples of significant commercially focused forums, entities, and alliances with varied guardianship roles and responsibilities:

Guardians of Business and Finance

• World Economic Forum (WEF) | Klaus Schwab, B?rge Brende | www.weforum.org
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) | Mathias Cormann, Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen | www.oecd.org
• Financial Stability Board (FSB) | Klaas Knot, John Schindler | www.fsb.org
• Bank for International Settlements (BIS) | Agustín Carstens | www.bis.org
• European Central Bank (ECB) | Claudia Buch, Christine Lagarde | www.ecb.europa.eu
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) | Sung Hwan Cho | www.iso.org
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) | Erkki Liikanen | www.ifrs.org
• Society of Actuaries (SOA) | Tim Rozar, Karen Burnett | www.soa.org
• International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) | Asmaa Resmouki, Lee White | www.ifac.org
• International Bar Association (IBA) | Almudena Arpón de Mendívil, J?rg Menzer | www.ibanet.org

The focus of certain bodies with an international reach can also be of a specialist nature which is confined to their own areas of expertise. Examples include:

Guardians of the Boardroom

• Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI) | Angela Cherrington, Béatrice Richez-Baum | https://gndi.weebly.com/
• Institute of Directors (IoD) | Jon Geldart Hon DBA, Dr. Roger Barker | www.iod.com
• National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) | Sue Cole, Peter Gleason | www.nacdonline.org

Guardians of Governance

• International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) | Ian Burger | Jen Sisson | https://www.icgn.org
• European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) | Herman Baron Daems | Marco Becht | https://www.ecgi.global
• Hawkamah Institute for Governance | Ahmad Bin Al Shaikh, Ashraf-Gamal El Din | www.hawkamah.org

Guardians of Risk

• Federation of European Risk Management Association (FERMA) | Charlotte Hedemark Hancke | Typhaine Beaupérin | https://www.ferma.eu
• Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) | Dave Arick, Gary LaBranche | www.RIMS.org
• Professional Risk Managers International Association (PRMIA) | Bruce Fletcher | Justin McCarthy | www.prmia.org

Guardians of Compliance

• World Compliance Association | Alba Lema, Albert Salvador Lafuente | www.worldcomplianceassociation.com
• International Federation of Compliance Associations (IFCA) | www.ifca.co
• Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) | R. Brett Short, Gerry Zack | www.corporatecompliance.org

Guardians of Intelligence

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) I Jessica Fries, Eelco van der Enden | www.globalreporting.org
• OECD Artificial Intelligence Policy Observatory (OECD AI) | Karine Perset | https://oecd.ai
• Strategic Consortium of Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) | Paul Santilli, David Frigstad | www.scip.org

Guardians of Security

• ASIS International | Cy Oatridge, Bill Tenney | https://www.asisonline.org
• Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) | Shawn P. Murray, Anne Rogers | www.issa.org
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) | Laurie Locascio, Jason Boehm | www.nist.gov

Guardians of Resilience

• Business Continuity Institute (BCI) | Heather Merchan, David Thorp | www.thebci.org
• Business Continuity Management Institute (BCM Institute) | Goh Moh Heng, Steven Sobak | www.bcm-institute.org
• Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI International) | Buffy Rojas Leach, Michele Ostler | https://www.drii.org

Guardians of Controls

• Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) | Lucia Wind, Doug Prawitt | www.coso.org
• Institute for Internal Controls (IIC) | Frank Nasuti, Thomas M. Brinker Jr. | https://theiic.org
• International Control Institute (ICI) | William E. Perry, Pete Warner | www.internalcontrolinstitute.org

Guardians of Assurance

• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) | Tom Seidenstein, Willie Botha | www.iaasb.org
• Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) | Sally-Anne Pitt, Anthony Pugliese | www.theiia.org
• Information Systems Audit and Controls Association (ISACA) | John De Santis, Erik Prusch | www.isaca.org

A Fork in the Road Ahead

Is humanity approaching a fork in the road moment?

A World in Jeopardy or A World in Union?

August 2024 reflects not only a period of unrest but one which appears to be descending into further crisis and deeper levels of chaos (and self-destruction). Due to what are now increasingly obvious weaknesses and deficiencies (e.g. veto abuse by permanent members of the UN Security Council etc.) our current global guardianship framework does not appear have the capability to prevent, contain, or respond to the emerging and evolving polycrisis. The current framework, which appears to have developed organically rather than by design is now in urgent need of reform as there are serious concerns that it is not fit-for-purpose. This is surely a time for our league of global guardians (individually and collectively) to step up to the plate, stretch outside their comfort zones (and silos), and begin to show genuine guardianship, stewardship, and leadership abilities before it is too late.

Global Fellowship and Unity of Purpose

The existential threats facing our planet are global in nature, they represent global issues which require global solutions, and need to be addressed at a global level. Futureproofing the world as we know it will require greater collaboration, cooperation, and coordination among our global leaders. Restoring some semblance of lasting stability to our global order will require a renewed commitment, a global solidarity of purpose, and a sense of unity which balances long-term collective objectives with short-term individual goals. This will require responsible and transparent efforts which are conducted in good faith at local, national, and international levels. Moreover, it will require a level of courage, conviction, and intestinal fortitude which currently appears to be lacking among many of our current leadership. Our guardians everywhere need to demand improved levels of fellowship among our global leaders to help ensure that our efforts are strategically aligned, tactically integrated, and operating in unison towards a global common purpose. Our governments have a particular responsibility in this regard. Ultimately, it is incumbent on the collective inhabitants of this planet of ours through our representative stakeholder groups to proactively seek a higher path and somehow learn to cherish, embrace, and respect our diversity while at the same time focusing on our unity.

[Question: Who else should be considered for inclusion in this League of Global Guardians?]

Further Reading

Preservation of Planet Earth (Project P.O.P.E) Initiative

• Clandestine Influence: A Threat to Corporate Governance, Planet Governance, and Planet Preservation? (Dec 2023)
• United Nations 2023: Guardian of Planet Preservation, Planet Governance, and International Law (Nov 2023)
• Planet Governance: Why Good Governance is Critical for Planet Preservation (June 2023)
• Project P.O.P.E. - Preservation of Planet Earth (Feb 2023)