UN Working Group on use of mercenaries
UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries
The United Nations “Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination” was established in July 2005 (UN Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/2). The Working Group succeeded the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the use of mercenaries which had been in existence since 1987. The UN Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Working Group in March 2008 for a period of three years (UN Human Rights Council Resolution 7/21).
The Working Group monitors and researches mercenaries and mercenary-related activities in all their forms and manifestations, including the actions of private military and security companies (PMSCs). The Working Group also develops guidelines; conducts country visits; receives individual complaints; publishes annual reports, studies, and articles; and presents proposals to encourage the further protection of human rights. The Working Group is expected to report back to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2010 on the proposed elements of a possible new international convention to regulate the activities of PMSCs and to encourage respect for human rights by those companies.
The Working Group is composed of five experts, each representing a world region,all appointed in July 2005 by the UN Human Rights Council.
Documents and press releases issued by the Working Group relating to PMSCs include:
- [PDF] Regulating and Monitoring Private Military and Security Companies, José L. Gómez del Prado, UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, 28 Jun 2010
- UN and Africa to discuss mercenaries and private military and security companies, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 25 Feb 2010
- [PDF] Core elements of proposed new convention to regulate PMSCs, UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, 4 Jan 2010
For further details, see:
- Official UN site for the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries
- Unofficial website of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries [Since publication, this website is no longer online. Limited snapshots are available via the Internet Archive here]
Related stories and components
Expert group on mercenaries concludes visit to Afghanistan
Author: United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries...concluded its five-day visit to Afghanistan today. The objectives of the visit were to discuss with Government authorities and relevant stakeholders the scope and nature of the activities of...
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Press conference by Amada Benavides and Alexander Nikitin of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, and Dan McNorton, UNAMA [UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] Public Information Officer
Author: United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
Afghanistan is among the few countries where this specific regulation is elaborated to regulate national and international private security companies. The Regulation which was adopted in February 2008 here in Afghanistan has led to the licensing of 39...
Author: Centro de Noticias ONU
El Grupo de Trabajo de la ONU sobre el uso de mercenarios concluyó una visita de cinco días a Afganistán…el Grupo discutió con las autoridades gubernamentales la implementación de instrumentos legales para regular las actividades de las compañías...
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[PDF] Private military and security companies: a framework for regulation
Author: James Cockayne & Emily Speers Mears, International Peace Institute
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[PDF] Code of Conduct: Tool for Self-Regulation for Private Military and Security Companies
Author: Nils Rosemann, published by Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
This study aims to illustrate patterns of behavioural rules derived from corporate obligations, and to deduce from these a draft Code of Conduct (CoC) for Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). The purpose of a Code of Conduct for [PMSCs] is...
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[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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