Two members of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries Amada Benavides de Pérez...and José-Luis Gomez del Prado...concluded a five day visit to Equatorial Guinea...to investigate activities of mercenaries in the country and their impact on human rights. The Group focused in particular on the investigations and prosecutions related to the armed attack on the presidential palace by alleged mercenaries on 17 February 2009 as well as on the 2004 coup attempt and its aftermath...the Group also inquired about the activities of private military and security companies...The experts also visited Punta Europa, the port facility of oil companies on the island of Bioko, to get information on the security arrangements of oil companies in this area...In relation to the attempted coup of 2004, the Working Group considers that this is a clear example of the link between the phenomenon of mercenaries and private military and security companies as a means of violating the sovereignty of the State. In this case, the mercenaries involved were mostly former personnel of private military and security companies and some were still employed by a private military and security companies as the case of two employees of the company Meteoric Tactical Systems providing security to diplomats of Western Embassies in Baghdad-among which to the Ambassador of Switzerland.