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UN WORKING GROUP CONCLUDES FOURTH SESSION, EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT THE INVOLVEMENT OF MERCENARIES AND PRIVATE MILITARY/SECURITY COMPANIES IN CONFLICT SITUATIONS
09 September 2008
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9 September 2008
The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries concluded on Friday its fourth session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
During its session, it considered information about the recent conflict in Georgia, specifically South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It is deeply concerned at reports indicating the involvement of mercenaries and private military/security companies in connection with the situation in the region. The Working Group will continue to engage with parties to the conflict to assess if this has been the case and to what extent such involvement falls, once confirmed, under the mandate of the Working Group.
The Working Group held discussions with Member States, United Nations Departments, civil society, including NGOs and academics, and representatives of Private Military/Security Companies.
The Working Group is engaged in the elaboration of new legal instruments for regulation of activities of Private Military/Security Companies. This session was an occasion to debate with relevant actors key principles for a system of regulation.
The Working Group will collaborate with OHCHR to organize on 17-18 October 2008 a regional governmental consultation for countries of Eastern European Group and Central Asia region. This regional meeting is part of a process leading to the holding of a high-level round table of States to discuss the role of the State as holder of the monopoly of the use of force.
In the months to come, it will hold its 5th session in Geneva in December 2008 and will continue to monitor the phenomenon of mercenaries and Private Military/Security Companies. In addition to engaging in a dialogue with Member States with respect to specific situations, it will continue to conduct country visits. In this respect, the Working Group will visit Afghanistan and the United States of America at the invitations of these respective Governments.
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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 was established in 2005 by the Commission on Human Rights.
The Working Group is composed of five independent experts serving in their personal capacities, and headed by its Chairperson-Rapporteur, Mr. Alexander Nikitin (Russian Federation). The other Working Group experts are: Ms. Najat al-Hajjaji (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Ms. Amada Benavides de Pérez (Colombia), José Luis Gómez del Prado (Spain), and Ms. Shaista Shameem (Fiji). For more information on the resolution establishing the mandate of the Working Group, please consult the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/mercenaries/index.htm
The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries concluded on Friday its fourth session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
During its session, it considered information about the recent conflict in Georgia, specifically South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It is deeply concerned at reports indicating the involvement of mercenaries and private military/security companies in connection with the situation in the region. The Working Group will continue to engage with parties to the conflict to assess if this has been the case and to what extent such involvement falls, once confirmed, under the mandate of the Working Group.
The Working Group held discussions with Member States, United Nations Departments, civil society, including NGOs and academics, and representatives of Private Military/Security Companies.
The Working Group is engaged in the elaboration of new legal instruments for regulation of activities of Private Military/Security Companies. This session was an occasion to debate with relevant actors key principles for a system of regulation.
The Working Group will collaborate with OHCHR to organize on 17-18 October 2008 a regional governmental consultation for countries of Eastern European Group and Central Asia region. This regional meeting is part of a process leading to the holding of a high-level round table of States to discuss the role of the State as holder of the monopoly of the use of force.
In the months to come, it will hold its 5th session in Geneva in December 2008 and will continue to monitor the phenomenon of mercenaries and Private Military/Security Companies. In addition to engaging in a dialogue with Member States with respect to specific situations, it will continue to conduct country visits. In this respect, the Working Group will visit Afghanistan and the United States of America at the invitations of these respective Governments.
**************************
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 was established in 2005 by the Commission on Human Rights.
The Working Group is composed of five independent experts serving in their personal capacities, and headed by its Chairperson-Rapporteur, Mr. Alexander Nikitin (Russian Federation). The other Working Group experts are: Ms. Najat al-Hajjaji (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Ms. Amada Benavides de Pérez (Colombia), José Luis Gómez del Prado (Spain), and Ms. Shaista Shameem (Fiji). For more information on the resolution establishing the mandate of the Working Group, please consult the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/mercenaries/index.htm