Apr 25, 2019 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ draws attention to instances of alleged human rights abuses by the private military and security companies in all regions and analyses the challenges related to the accountability frameworks and access to justice.
The ICJ contribution is in response to the call by the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, which also has a mandate on private security companies, for written information to assist in its deliberations on “private military and security companies in extractive industries – impact on human rights”.
Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) are hired by companies engaged in extractive operations in all geographic regions of the world, but their activities or operations that give rise to allegations of human rights violations and abuses seem to be prevalent regions where abundance of natural resources and the favorable environment for foreign investment are propitious to the establishment of extractive companies in, many times, fragile contexts.
In this regard ICJ suggests the Working group to consider the following recommendations:
- States should ensure that their domestic legal framework provides for real access to effective remedies for victims of human rights abuse by PMSCs and extractive companies.
- Provide guidance to States to establish effective legal accountability frameworks of criminal or civil nature that pay due consideration to the inherently dangerous nature of the mining activity and the security services operating in that context.
- Recommend that States establish legal frameworks that require meaningful reporting/disclosure of company policies and practices in relation to human rights, including their use and effectiveness of grievance mechanisms at the operational level.
- Both extractive and security companies should respect all human rights in accordance with international standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and other sectorial guidance applicable to PMSCs.
- Security companies, whatever their structure or ownership, should carry out enhanced processes of due diligence consistent with international best practices, and participate in remediation schemes.
Universal-ICJ Submission PSC and extractive industries-Advocacy-non legal submissions-2019-ENG (full text of the report, in PDF)
Sep 18, 2017 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today called for international legal regulation of private military and security companies, in an oral statement tot he UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and welcomed recent steps towards this goal.
The statement, made during general debate on thematic concerns, read as follows:
The ICJ welcomes the opportunity to comment on the “Report of the open-ended intergovernmental working group to consider the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory framework on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies on its sixth session.” (A/HRC/36/36)
The ICJ notes with satisfaction the consensus reached among States to commence elaborating the content of “an international regulatory framework” in efforts to protect human rights and ensure accountability for violations and abuses relating to the activities of private military and private security companies (para. 28).
The ICJ joins the Working Group on Mercenaries’ call for an international legally binding instrument “to ensure consistent regulation worldwide and adequate protection of human rights of all affected” by activities of PMSCs ((A/HRC/36/47, para. 67). This instrument would provide common standards on regulation and prevention as well as on measures to ensure access to effective remedies and reparations by the victims of abuse, areas where the working group has identified gaps of protection.
Broad-based participation by all stakeholders is critical for the success of the process, its legitimacy, the adequacy of its content as well as for the effectiveness of its implementation. The ICJ calls on the Chairperson Rapporteur ensure wide participation, especially from civil society from the developing countries.
The ICJ calls on this Council to support the renewal of the Open Ended Intergovernmental working Group as recommended in the report (A/HRC/36/36) and to actively participate in its deliberations.
May 27, 2017 | News
On 24 May 2017, States at the UN reached an agreement to prepare an “international regulatory framework” to protect human rights and ensure accountability for violations and abuses relating to the activities of private military and private security companies (PMSCs).
The agreement, reached at Working Group level, has still to be ratified by the full UN Human Rights Council.
It would be the first universal international instrument on human rights and private security companies negotiated and adopted at the UN.
This could pave the way to further developments towards increased monitoring and accountability of the private security industry.
The agreement constitutes a landmark achievement. The intergovernmental Working Group over the past six years have been mired in circular debates as to whether or not it is desirable to develop a legally binding instrument on PMSCs.
Last’s week agreement leaves aside for the moment the decision about the nature of the instrument and will instead allow for a constructive focus on the contents of the future instrument.
Activities of private and military security companies became the object of heightened international scrutiny particularly after events in the context of the armed conflict in Iraq over the past decade.
These include unlawful killings at Nisoor Square and torture and ill-treatment at Abu Graib prison.
A Working Group of experts on mercenary activity appointed by the UN Human Rights Council started to look at the issues in 2007, generating proposals for international instruments to fill perceived regulatory gaps.
Many States have now accepted that the absence of an international regulatory framework combined with limited or non-existent regulation at national level offers a “breeding ground” for human rights abuses committed by PMSCs.
The main clients of these companies are governments that contract them to carry out specific functions, including some that many believe should remain firmly in the hands of public officials.
One key issue that the future instrument should address is the circumstances under which PMSCs can be considered to act on behalf of the State when they are contracted to perform functions that are typically State functions.
International law already governs some aspects of PMSC activity. International human rights law provides for a general obligation of States to protect against the adverse consequences of PMSC activity.
There has also been other international regulatory activity outside of UN auspices in this area.
In 2008 a select group of mostly Western States led by the Government of Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) elaborated the Montreux Document on pertinent obligations for States regarding PMSCs.
Other initiatives such as a Code of Conduct for the PMSCs themselves followed suit. But many States and civil society organizations regard these initiatives as insufficient and lacking the universality afforded by UN processes.
One notable weakness in current approaches is the dearth of standards and mechanisms squarely addressing accountability of private security industry and to ensure access to remedy for those victims of abuse.
Experience shows that States legal frameworks have limited effectiveness when abuses occur at the cross-border level, involving more than one company in more than one jurisdiction, especially in conflict or post-conflict environments.
The prospective international regulatory framework should surely build on existing initiatives, research and findings.
To that end, broad participation by all stakeholders should be ensured.
In this regard, participation of civil society and NGOs specialized in human rights has not been optimal so far.
States leading this new process should make all and every effort to fill that gap, ensuring that international and national civil society receive timely information and facilities for meaningful participation.
Sep 14, 2016 | Events
This panel discussion features two Iraqi torture survivors, Salah Hassan Nsaif and Ali Shallal Abbas, who will share their first-hand accounts serious abuse suffered at Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison, and the role of U.S. contractors in that torture and abuse.
The event organised by the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), and the Center for Constitutional Rights, takes place 15 September 2016, 11:00-12:00, at the Palais des Nations Room XXVII in Geneva, Switzerland.
CCR Senior Staff Attorney Katherine Gallagher will discuss legal cases, Saleh v Titan and Al Shimari v CACI, brought in the United States on behalf of victims as they seek justice. The cases will be placed in context of broader corporate accountability efforts, including those of the UN Working Group on Mercenaries and the Open-Ended Working Group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
Speakers:
Salah Hassan, journalist and photographer for Al Jazeera network and Abu Ghraib torture survivor
Ali Shallal Abbas, Founder and President of the Association of victims of the American and Iranian prisons in Iraq, and Abu Ghraib torture survivor
Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights
Carlos Lopez, Senior Legal Adviser, Business and Human Rights, International Commission of Jurists (moderator)
Remarks will also be made by Patricia Arias, Chair of the UN Working Group on Mercenaries.
Following the event, there will be the opening of an art exhibit organized by the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries. Ms. Arias, Mr. Nsaif, and Mr. Abbas will make remarks, and guests are invited to engage with the photographs, multimedia display, and virtual reality film. The exhibit is open to delegates, NGOs, and the public. “Private Actors in Warfare: Stories from victims of private military and security companies and foreign fighters” will take place at 13:00 – 15:00 in Palais des Nations Room XXIII.
A flyer for the event may be downloaded, in PDF format, here: side-event-pmsc-abu-graib-sept2016
Sep 16, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council, in the interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Mercenaries on its report on private military and security companies.
The full statement may be downloaded in PDF format here: UN-Advocacy-HRC30-OralStatement-WGMercenaries-2015
