UN experts caution on security contractors in Iraq

New York (8 July 2011) – As US troops prepare to withdraw from Iraq, UN experts are urging the Iraqi government to institute a law to regulate the activities of private military contractors.

“While US troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of the year, security contractors are there to stay. The urgency to regulate their activities couldn’t be greater,” says José Luis Gómez del Prado, Chair of the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries.*

During its 13th session in New York, 5 to 8 July, the Working Group discussed the findings of the visit to Iraq from 12 to 16 June 2011.

As US troops are leaving Iraq, the number of security contractors for the Department of State, who are not covered by the 2009 Status of Forces Agreement between Iraq and the US, is set to increase to almost 5,500 over the next years.

In addition, private military security companies are increasingly providing services to multinationals conducting commercial activities in Iraq. In this regard, the Working Group urges the Government of Iraq to adopt as a matter of urgency legislation that comprehensively covers private military and security companies operating within its territory. The Working Group also recommends that the United States adopt legislation to clarify jurisdiction over security contractors for the Department of State and other US agencies.

Until 2009, immunity from Iraqi justice – which was granted to contractors by the Coalition Provisional Authority which governed Iraq - prevented prosecutions in Iraqi courts. Nor have prosecutions in the home countries of such companies been successful.

Four years after the notorious killing of 17 civilians in Nissour Square, the case against the alleged perpetrators is still pending in United States courts.

“US security contractors have been involved in serious human rights violations in Iraq. It is imperative that those responsible for such violations are prosecuted. Victims and their families are still waiting for justice” recalled Mr. José Luis Gómez del Prado.

The issue of accountability for human rights violations by private military and security companies is equally important in other countries of the world, particularly in Latin America.

ENDS

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 then Commission on Human Rights.

(*) The Working Group is composed of five independent experts serving in their personal capacities: Mr. José Luis Gómez del Prado (Chair-Rapporteur, Spain), Ms. Faiza Patel (Pakistan), Mr. Alexander Nikitin (Russian Federation), Ms. Amada Benavides de Pérez (Colombia) and Ms. Najat al-Hajjaji (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya).

Learn more about the mandate and work of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/mercenaries/index.htm

For more information and media requests, please contact Catherine Phuong (Tel: +41 79 444 4844 / email: cphuong@ohchr.org) or Karin Lucke (Tel: +41 79 444 4828 / klucke@ohchr.org).