Many companies operating within these countries have taken initiative under corporate social responsibility programs to improve their best management practices and achieve certification by credible third-party organizations such as the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices and Naturland.
Countries with solid records on elections administration could apply for permanent certification and, barring credible accusations from opposition parties or observers, would be subject only to periodic review.
"Belgium has appointed a task force to tackle the issue, and we have a very credible certification system with the Luanda authorities, with whom we are allowed to trade in diamonds," he said.
And since Apple is an industry leader, it should also take this process to the next level by helping governments, industry and civil society create a credible certification system so that all companies can source responsibly from eastern Congo.
The high mobility of the livestock population poses an additional challenge for the control and establishment of credible certification systems for the major trans-boundary diseases occurring in Somalia.
In either case, a credible certification programme must evaluate the integrity of the producer's claim and the authenticity of product origin, and must be seen to be objective and impartial.
Surveillance efforts could be targeted at high-risk areas which would lead to more effective use of the scarce veterinary resources in Somalia, and ultimately, contribute to the establishment of an internationally credible certification system for livestock export by nomadic pastoral systems.
In October 2004 the project held a workshop for government, private-sector and industry representatives from 16 shea-producing countries across sub-Saharan Africa to build regional consensus on technical issues of product quality as a basis for building a regionally coherent and internationally credible certification system.
Quality certifications can effectively provide credible signals about product quality from firms in developing countries, enabling international buyers to differentiate between high- and low-quality products from the same country (Potoski and Prakash 2009).
"There are several credible forest certification standards in the marketplace, and we respect businesses making choices," she said.
