When states fail to protect basic rights, companies and their stakeholders must step in to establish and enforce industry-specific performance standards.  

In many parts of the world, local governments are either unwilling or unable to protect their own people. This has created governance gaps, which a number of states, companies, and civil society groups are seeking to address. Increasingly they have formed multistakeholder initiatives (MSIs) to combat corruption, child and forced labor, and a range of human rights challenges. Though numerous MSIs now exist, few are achieving meaningful accountability. Despite these mixed results, MSIs, when sufficiently resourced and rigorous in their approach, have the greatest potential to address governance gaps. We are work to support and strengthen promising initiatives to demonstrate the viability of this model.