The ICJ today called for better regulation of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in national and international law.
Noting gaps identified in the regulation of PMSCs in the annual report to the UN by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, the ICJ encouraged the Working Group to:
- Publish national laws of the concerned countries and submit this and additional detailed information and analysis to the Open Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on a possible international regulatory framework for PMSCs, which will meet for its third session in December 2013; and
- Focus in future phases of its study on the availability, accessibility and effectiveness of accountability and redress mechanisms, including judicial mechanisms, in national laws.
The statement was made during an Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group (under Item 3 of the Human Rights Council’s agenda) during the 24th regular session of the Council (9 to 27 September 2013).
HRC24-OralStatement-WGMercenaries-LegalSubmission-2013 (download full statement by the ICJ)
A-HRC-24-45 (download the annual report of the Working Group)