13/12/2024 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
A PACE committee is calling for robust international and national laws and regulations to ensure that the activities of private military and security companies – described as mercenaries in some contexts – “align with democratic principles and respect for human rights”, including on issues such as accountability and redress for victims of human rights violations.
“The regulatory landscape on this matter remains scarce,” said PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, approving a draft resolution based on a report by Andrea Orlando (Italy, SOC). The committee pointed out that although such groups often serve legitimate purposes, such as supporting humanitarian efforts, they are sometimes deliberately used to conceal state involvement in a conflict and operate without the same scrutiny as regular forces, offering “plausible deniability”. They may also stand to benefit from prolonging conflicts to increase their profits.
“Violations by mercenaries and mercenary-related actors are escalating in scale and intensity while accountability remains mostly absent,” the committee said. It set out the minimum requirements for states licensing, contracting, operating or deploying private military and security companies, including effective oversight, remedies for possible human rights violations, and training to prevent abuses.
For its part, the Council of Europe should examine the feasibility of drawing up a convention governing the use of private military and security companies, complementing initiatives at the UN, the parliamentarians said.