5 November 2013
International agreement needed to regulate private militaries, says UN
The UN working group on the use of mercenaries says there is a need for an international agreement to regulate the use and activities of private military, as national legislation is not sufficient. The use of private militaries creates risks for human rights, says Anton Kats, the Chairman-Rapporteur of the working group.
Among the problems with using these private militaries are the lack of effective and transparent mechanism and remedies for human rights violations and difficultly ensuring accountability for such violations of human rights. Although there are initiatives such as the International Code of Conduct, which has been incorporated by some states and companies to regulate the use of private militaries, they are not legally binding and thus are not enough to solve these problems.