It is the official position of Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC) that the best way to ensure Canadian corporate social responsibility (CSR) abroad, particularly with respect to human security, is to workin partnership with the private and non-governmental sectors to promote the reflection of internationally agreed norms and standards in the overseas operations of Canadian companies. Our efforts to promote CSR domestically facilitate private sector dialogue on the issues, including the development and implementation of voluntary codes of conduct involving, where possible, a role for labour and non-government organizations (NGOs).1While private-public partnerships and adherence to international norms are certainly essential aspects of an effective approach to CSR, relying on corporations voluntarily to self-regulate generates a deficit in accountability that could have significant consequences for the human security agenda and national interests. Corporate activities that contribute to human security may not yet register as an enduring issue with the Canadian public and the overall damage that has occurred thus far to Canada's reputation remains manageable. However, ill-will generated in hotspots will grow over time and circulate into new domains, altering the generally positive perceptions of Canada as a global actor.Canada is a country that relies heavily on its expertise in public diplomacy in order to cultivate a positive global brand image that greatly contributes to its soft power capabilities. It is Canada's soft power expertise that is the primary facilitator for conducting a style of foreign policy that brings significant prestige in proportion to its material strength, by seeking to address pressing issues facing the global community in creative ways, while satisfying national interests. Thus, preserving and augmenting its image as an upstanding global citizen through the promotion of Canadian values should be the priority of FAC's policy posture with respect to CSR, as all other interests are contingent on meeting this objective.It is a generally positive image of Canada held by other actors in global politics that forms the essential foundation of trust that makes possible Canadian foreign policy directions in areas from trade to human security. Therefore, damage to Canada's positive global brand image that can result when glaring disconnects are identified between publicly stated goals and actual practice will eventually proliferate beyond the issue at hand and undermine Canadian credibility writ large, hindering FAC's ability to pursue broader national interests in various sectors.2 This becomes particularly acute in current circumstances when hard power capabilities are lacking or often inappropriate for one's diplomatic style and goals.FAC's current approach to CSR is placing Canadian credibility in jeopardy with the general public, other states, and global civil society as voluntary self-regulation continues to fail to adequately address actions by leading Canadian commercial enterprises that are contributing to human insecurity. Unfortunately, both within the narrow confines of the human security agenda and the broader contours of Canadian foreign policy, this is not the first time that there has been a disjunctive between rhetoric and action and/or the co-existence of incompatible aims.1But what makes the issue of CSR and corporate accountability with respect to human security different from other incidents, such as the decline of foreign assistance throughout the 19905, is the potential for the Canadian government to be seen as complicit in these activities through commission rather than through omission by providing loans and insurance resources to some of these corporations through grants given by the Export Development Corporation (EDC). This is a risk that needs to be eliminated.Given that operations in weak states and conflict zones often offer the largest potential profits, the risks would multiply exponentially for Canada if an E DC-funded corporation were found to be aiding and abetting war crimes in such an environment, and were brought before the International Criminal Court of Justice, or faced trial in another legal jurisdiction. …