International Standards
The Voluntary Principles on Security & Human Rights
A plain explanation of the global standard that shapes how responsible security is delivered — and why it is written into every level of every Britannia Elite programme.
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Never heard of them? Most people haven’t.
If you are new to the security industry, there is no reason you would have come across the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights — and that is entirely normal. Yet they are one of the most important standards shaping how modern security work is carried out around the world.
In plain terms: the Principles set out how to protect people, premises and assets without causing unnecessary harm — lawfully, proportionately, and with respect for the rights of everyone involved, including the communities around an operation.
What They Are
A global standard for responsible security
Agreed in 2000 by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, together with major companies and non-governmental organisations, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR) are the leading international standard for security and human rights.
Originally written for the oil, gas and mining sector, they are now implemented in over 150 countries and across energy, mining, agriculture, infrastructure and other industries, as well as by public security agencies. They are consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and are embedded in international standards such as IFC Performance Standard 4.
Importantly, the Principles guide organisations on how to provide security responsibly. Britannia Elite’s role is to train the people who deliver that security to operate to the standard those organisations are expected to meet.
The Framework
Three components, one principle
Everything in the Voluntary Principles falls under three connected components. Together they cover the full picture: understanding the risk, working with state security, and governing private security.
Risk Assessment
Understanding the operating environment — conflict dynamics, the rule of law, the human-rights records of security providers, and the risks a security presence itself can create for local communities.
Public Security
How an organisation engages with police, military and state security: promoting lawful, proportionate conduct, respect for human rights, and the recording and raising of concerns.
Private Security
How private security should act — lawfully, proportionately and defensively; with clear use-of-force policies; investigating and reporting incidents; and excluding anyone implicated in human-rights abuses.
Why We Build It In
Value for the learner — and the client
We integrate the Principles across our training for two reasons: it makes our learners better professionals, and it gives the organisations who employ them genuine assurance.
For the Learner
- A modern, internationally recognised approach to the role
- Confident, lawful and proportionate decision-making under pressure
- A clear understanding of conflict management and de-escalation
- Skills that employers in the UK, East Africa and internationally now expect
- A professional edge when working with corporate, NGO and high-risk clients
For the Client
- Personnel trained to an internationally recognised standard
- Reduced operational and reputational risk
- Stronger relationships with the communities around your operations
- A documented training trail that supports your own human-rights due diligence
- Confidence that conduct, use of force and reporting are understood from day one
Across The Board
Written into every level, every programme
The Voluntary Principles are not a single module or an optional extra. They are built into the curriculum from the first day to the last, and they apply equally across both of our core pathways — at every level, for every learner.
Vigilant Defender™
Every level of the Vigilant Defender programme — from entry through to advanced — carries the same human-rights-aligned standard. The depth of application grows as a learner progresses, but the principle never changes.
Project Athena™
Project Athena operates within the Vigilant Defender framework, so it follows the identical curriculum and the identical standard. Learners on Athena receive exactly the same grounding in the Voluntary Principles, at every level.
Human-rights awareness and lawful, professional conduct — the baseline every operative carries from day one.
Dedicated Use of Force and Human Rights & Anti-Trafficking Law modules, aligned to the ICoC and the Voluntary Principles.
Application in complex, higher-risk and hostile environments, where proportionate judgement matters most.
This is also why the Principles are assessed, not simply taught. Lawful, proportionate conduct is a required standard on every use-of-force element of the curriculum — a learner has to demonstrate it, not just recall it. It is one expression of the same commitment set out in our Values & Standards.
Across The Group
One standard, three responsibilities
Our structure exists to make the standard meaningful — set in the UK, certified and made locally compliant in Uganda, and delivered on the ground by Nile Protective Training.
Sets the academic and ethical framework, owns the human-rights-aligned curriculum, and maintains quality assurance and oversight across the group. The standard against which all delivery is measured.
Ensures training delivered in-country is lawful, appropriate and auditable — aligned to both UK governance and Ugandan regulatory requirements, with learners assessed on lawful conduct and ethical decision-making.
Delivers the practical, scenario-based training on the ground — conflict management, use-of-force decision-making, community interaction and incident reporting, in environments that reflect where learners will actually work.
Instructor Competence
Cascade-trained to one standard
A consistent standard depends on consistent instruction. Two Head Instructors hold the Britannia Elite standard for human-rights-aligned training and cascade it through every instructor across the group.
Each instructor is trained, assessed and signed off internally before they deliver — so a learner receives the same interpretation and the same standard wherever they train and whoever teaches them. One curriculum, one delivery model, no deviation.
What this is — and what it isn’t
The Voluntary Principles are a voluntary international framework for organisations; they are not, in themselves, a licence or a regulated qualification. Britannia Elite delivers training aligned to the Voluntary Principles and the International Code of Conduct (ICoC), and issues its own certification confirming the training completed and competence assessed. Where your organisation requires formal implementation support for these standards, we can advise separately.
Talk To Us
Train your people to a standard that holds up
Speak to Britannia Elite about human-rights-aligned training and verification for your personnel and your organisation.