Member governments, security companies and civil society organisations...formally created the first international body to be tasked with the monitoring and oversight of private military contractors’ adherence to human rights standards and international law. Advocates say the move is significant, formalising a sector whose actions...have often fallen into legal grey areas amidst the complexity of conflict and humanitarian emergency...Yet critics warn that the voluntary agreement lacks sufficient enforcement mechanisms while potentially legitimising the privatisation of armed conflict, a process that has been on a steep climb over the past two decades...[T]he ICoC Association...will now be mandated with overseeing companies’ adherence to the ICoC guidelines. [refers to Blackwater, Academi]