Business & Human Rights : International Peace Operations Association (IPOA)

Title: IPOA Welcomes Montreux Agreement on Private Security Companies

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Author: International Peace Operations Association
Dated: 17 Sep 2008

The International Peace Operations Association (IPOA) welcomes the international agreement on the “Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices of State Related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies during Armed Conflict” agreed to by 17 governments, NGOs and industry representatives. IPOA was honored to be a part of the process and we see the agreement as an affirmation of the global value of ethical private sector operations in conflict, post-conflict and disaster relief operations.

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Visit: Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs)

Author: Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Dated: 17 Sep 2008

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Title: Dix-sept pays parviennent à un accord sur des recommandations visant à contrôler les compagnies militaires et de sécurité privées

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Title: [DOC] Presentation to the 4th session of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, New York, 4 September 2008

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Author: Annabel Short, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Dated: 04 Sep 2008

The human rights challenges posed by the increasing privatization of security are immense. Yet in some respects the space for addressing these challenges is opening up. High-profile incidents such as the 16 September 2007 killings involving Blackwater at Nisour Square in Baghdad have put a spotlight on the accountability gap. And never before have so many groups and institutions paid attention to this subject (either directly or within a broader context)...[also refers to KBR, GEO, Teleservice, Endiama, ITM Mining, Lazare Kaplan, Risks Incorporated, Jewels Star, Madrid Metro]

Title: Let's leash the dogs of war

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Author: Matthew Harwood, Guardian [UK]
Dated: 14 Mar 2008

...James Schmitt, a senior vice-president at ArmorGroup North America, Inc, testified at a hearing of the Senate's homeland security and government affairs committee on private security contractors (PSCs) and their role supporting the US military overseas…His message was clear: if Congress wants to avoid more bad press yet keep PSCs in its service, they should hire responsible contractors. Schmitt's recommendation…reeks of self-interest, but it's enlightened self-interest. A shift toward ethically conscious PSCs will increase the market share of companies like ArmorGroup, harm Blackwater (the largest PSC in Iraq) and allow the US to argue that it no longer does business with mercenaries.

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Visit: [PDF] Statement of James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc. - Before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Author: James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc.
Dated: 27 Feb 2008

Title: Los mercenarios del siglo XXI

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Visit: Los mercenarios del siglo XXI

Author: Virginia Hebrero, EFE
Dated: 10 marzo 2008

Las empresas de seguridad privada que actúan en los países con conflictos bélicos constituyen una industria...floreciente y están sustituyendo a los mercenarios 'tradicionales', según el informe presentado...por el presidente del grupo de trabajo de la ONU sobre este fenómeno...José Luis Gómez del Prado..."Por ejemplo, Blackwater...se presenta como 'una organización generosa que trabaja por la paz' y en Estados Unidos funciona bajo el paraguas de la International Peace Organisation Association", señaló...El informe señala que en América Latina se da el "fenómeno emergente de la relación entre empresas de seguridad privada contratadas por compañías transnacionales para la protección de sitios...claves para la extracción minera, de petróleo y de fuentes de agua, y la represión violenta de la protesta social de las comunidades locales por la defensa de sus tierras y de los derechos medioambientales...".

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Visit: Informe del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la utilización de mercenarios como medio de violar los derechos humanos y obstaculizar el ejercicio del derecho de los pueblos a la libre determinación [documento A/HRC/7/7, pulsar en "S"]

Author: Grupo de Trabajo de la ONU sobre la utilización de mercenarios
Dated: 9 enero 2008

Title: Iraq: Armed humanitarianism

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Visit: Iraq: Armed humanitarianism

Author: Patrick Cullen, International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
Dated: 05 Mar 2008

…[T]he sheer violence of the post-2003 insurgency in Iraq has forced many humanitarian actors - NGOs and various governmental and intergovernmental organizations alike - to either abandon their efforts completely, or rely upon the services of private security firms...Chris Taylor, a former vice president of the PSC Blackwater…tells ISN Security Watch that "one of the greatest opportunities is between NGOs and PSCs…"NGOs have great cultural understanding and relationships and PSCs have an experienced, capable capacity to make a real difference in conflict zones. They need to get past their preconceived notions of each other and partner to truly impact and assuage human suffering."

Title: [PDF] Journal of Intl. Peace Operations

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Author: International Peace Operations Association
Dated: Mar 2008

[Includes]:
- Origins of the IPOA Code of Conduct, pg. 9
- A Human Rights Perspective on Business Ethics, Dr. Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt, pg. 13
- Security and Human Rights in the Oil, Gas and Mining Industry, Krista Hendry, pg. 14
- Implementing the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, Dr. Christos Mylonas, Shell, pg. 15

Title: [PDF] A Human Rights Perspective on Business Ethics: Placing the Substance Behind the Buzz Words [scroll to pg. 13]

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Author: Rebecca Dewinter-Schmitt, in Journal of International Peace Operations
Dated: March-April 2008

[H]uman rights organizations assert that it is the responsibility of companies to respect human rights…and to use their influence to promote human rights wherever they conduct business. This can be especially challenging for Private Security Companies operating in areas already rife with abuses, limited rule of law, and corrupt or ineffectual governments…While closing legal loopholes and bringing individuals who commit criminal acts to justice are of utmost importance…companies must also examine their internal processes and procedures and their ability to meet the ethical business standards expected of them…Fully-fledged legal accountability for a global industry conducting business in difficult operating environments may be some time in coming, but the need to behave ethically persists despite limitations in current law.

Title: [PDF] Statement of James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc. - Before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

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Visit: [PDF] Statement of James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc. - Before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Author: James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc.
Dated: 27 Feb 2008

...the private security industry, my industry, has been under a great deal of scrutiny due to the recent events and significant incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan involving private security contractors [PSCs] operating in support of U.S. government requirements...it is certainly prudent to examine the role of [PSCs], the standards to which they are expected to operate, and the oversight and enforcement mechanisms necessary to ensure their conduct and operations fall within the rule of law...I hope that I can convey to you some of the regulatory provisions that are coming to this industry and what we, in the private sector, can do to assist the U.S. government with the implementation of these changes.

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Visit: Let's leash the dogs of war

Author: Matthew Harwood, Guardian [UK]
Dated: 14 Mar 2008

Title: Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of people to self-determination [document A/HRC/7/7, click on "E"]

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Visit: Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of people to self-determination [document A/HRC/7/7, click on "E"]

Author: UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries
Dated: 09 Jan 2008

The Working Group visited Peru, Fiji and Chile during 2007...The Working Group has increasingly received information from Governments, NGOs and individuals concerning situations involving...private military and security companies...An emerging trend in Latin America but also in other regions of the world indicates situations of private security companies protecting transnational extractive corporations whose employees are often involved in suppressing the legitimate social protest of communities and human rights...PMSCs are at present rarely held accountable by effective oversight mechanisms at parliamentary levels, whether in the States that contracts them or in the countries where they operate...The Working Group is concerned that private contractors perform military and quasi-military tasks in situations of conflict...Once performing security work in Iraq, many Chileans, Fijians, Hondurans and Peruvians have experienced contractual irregularities and poor working conditions, including excessive working hours, partial or full non-payment of salaries, ill-treatment and the neglect of basic needs such as access to medical services...[also refers to Neskovin, Blackwater, Global Guards, Triple Canopy, Defion, Your Solutions, DynCorp]

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Visit: Private security companies lack oversight and regulation – UN working group

Author: UN News Centre
Dated: 10 Mar 2008

Title: Informe del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la utilización de mercenarios como medio de violar los derechos humanos y obstaculizar el ejercicio del derecho de los pueblos a la libre determinación [documento A/HRC/7/7, pulsar en "S"]

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Visit: Informe del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la utilización de mercenarios como medio de violar los derechos humanos y obstaculizar el ejercicio del derecho de los pueblos a la libre determinación [documento A/HRC/7/7, pulsar en "S"]

Author: Grupo de Trabajo de la ONU sobre la utilización de mercenarios
Dated: 9 enero 2008

En 2007 el Grupo de Trabajo visitó el Perú, Fiji y Chile...El Grupo de Trabajo recibe cada vez más informaciones de gobiernos, ONG y particulares sobre situaciones en que intervienen...empresas militares y de seguridad privadas...En América Latina y en otras regiones del mundo empieza a observarse una nueva tendencia en la que los empleados de las empresas privadas de seguridad encargadas de proteger a corporaciones extractivas...participan a menudo en la represión de protestas sociales legítimas de las comunidades y de organizaciones de derechos humanos y de defensa del medio ambiente...En la actualidad, las EMP/ESP rara vez rinden cuentas de sus actos ante mecanismos parlamentarios de vigilancia efectivos ni en los Estados que las contratan ni en los países en que actúan...Durante su trabajo de seguridad en el Iraq, muchos chilenos, fiyianos, hondureños y peruanos han estado sometidos a irregularidades contractuales y a condiciones laborales deficientes, tales como horarios de trabajo xcesivos, impago parcial o total de salarios, trato vejatorio...[también se refiere a Neskovin, Blackwater, Global Guards, Triple Canopy, Defion, Your Solutions, DynCorp]

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Visit: Los mercenarios del siglo XXI

Author: Virginia Hebrero, EFE
Dated: 10 marzo 2008

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Title: IPOA Welcomes Montreux Agreement on Private Security Companies

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Title: Dix-sept pays parviennent à un accord sur des recommandations visant à contrôler les compagnies militaires et de sécurité privées

Title: [DOC] Presentation to the 4th session of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, New York, 4 September 2008

Title: Let's leash the dogs of war

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Title: Los mercenarios del siglo XXI

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Title: Iraq: Armed humanitarianism

Title: [PDF] Journal of Intl. Peace Operations

Title: [PDF] A Human Rights Perspective on Business Ethics: Placing the Substance Behind the Buzz Words [scroll to pg. 13]

Title: [PDF] Statement of James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc. - Before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

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Title: Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of people to self-determination [document A/HRC/7/7, click on "E"]

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Title: Informe del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la utilización de mercenarios como medio de violar los derechos humanos y obstaculizar el ejercicio del derecho de los pueblos a la libre determinación [documento A/HRC/7/7, pulsar en "S"]

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Title: IPOA Welcomes Montreux Agreement on Private Security Companies

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Language Variations

Title: Dix-sept pays parviennent à un accord sur des recommandations visant à contrôler les compagnies militaires et de sécurité privées

Title: [DOC] Presentation to the 4th session of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, New York, 4 September 2008

Title: Let's leash the dogs of war

List item: 1

Title: Los mercenarios del siglo XXI

List item: 1

Title: Iraq: Armed humanitarianism

Title: [PDF] Journal of Intl. Peace Operations

Title: [PDF] A Human Rights Perspective on Business Ethics: Placing the Substance Behind the Buzz Words [scroll to pg. 13]

Title: [PDF] Statement of James D. Schmitt - Senior Vice President ArmorGroup North America, Inc. - Before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

List item: 1

Title: Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of people to self-determination [document A/HRC/7/7, click on "E"]

List item: 1

Title: Informe del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la utilización de mercenarios como medio de violar los derechos humanos y obstaculizar el ejercicio del derecho de los pueblos a la libre determinación [documento A/HRC/7/7, pulsar en "S"]

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