J.J. MESSNER
Executive Director, The Fund for Peace
J.J. Messner is the Executive Director of FFP. Though he has broad responsibility for all of the organization’s programs, Mr. Messner also leads FFP’s security and human rights programs. He is currently the lead NGO representative on the Steering Committee of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, a position in which he has served for six years, during which time he took an active role in expanding and improving implementation of the VPSHR and mapping the initiative’s long-term strategy.
Recently Mr. Messner co-authored the International Finance Corporation’s Handbook on Use of Security Forces, providing guidance on implementation of the security aspects of IFC Performance Standard 4. On-the-ground, Mr. Messner has led FFP’s implementation programs that have included security, human rights, and conflict assessments at various projects in a multitude of countries, working in collaboration with corporate partners, local governments, and both militaries and private security forces. Mr. Messner designed and implemented a U.S. State Department-funded project on the implementation of the VPSHR in Ghana, working with various ministries and government agencies, security forces, large-scale mining companies, small-scale mining associations, and civil society on issues related to the implementation of the government’s National Action Plan on security, and transparency. He has worked closely with large-scale mining and oil companies (including Barrick Gold, Goldcorp, Inmet Mining, Kosmos Energy, Newmont Mining, and Talisman Energy) and investors (such as the International Finance Corporation and Inter-American Development Bank) on developing training programs, conducting assessments, and assisting in improving the performance of company operations to minimize or mitigate negative impacts on affected communities. He also previously co-facilitated the development of the World Gold Council’s Conflict-Free Gold Standard. Previously, Mr. Messner was Director of the International Stability Operations Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for, and raising, professional standards of the defense contracting industry, including the contracting of private security forces. In this role, Mr. Messner was involved in the early stages of the development of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers, which has become the global standard for private security companies. Mr. Messner holds a Bachelors of Arts (Politics) from the University of Adelaide, Australia, and a Masters of Science (Peacekeeping Operations) from George Mason University in Washington, D.C.
