RES/7/21 Mandate of 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

Human Rights Council

Resolution 7/21. Mandate of 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 Human Rights Council,

Recalling all of the previous resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and

the Commission on Human Rights on the subject, including Assembly resolution

62/145 of 18 December 2007 and Commission resolution 2005/2 of 7 April 2005,

Bearing in mind paragraph 6 of Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March

2006,

Recalling Council resolutions 5/1 entitled “Institution-building of the United

Nations Human Rights Council” and 5/2 entitled “Code of Conduct for Special

Procedures Mandate-holders of the Human Rights Council” of 18 June 2007, and

stressing that the mandate-holder shall discharge his/her duties in accordance with

these resolutions and the annexes thereto,

1. Acknowledges with appreciation the work and contributions made 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, and takes note

with appreciation of its latest report (A/HRC/7/7);

2. Decides to extend the mandate of 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 for a period of three years:

(a) To elaborate and present concrete proposals on possible

complementary and new standards aimed at filling existing gaps, as well as general

guidelines or basic principles

encouraging the further protection of human rights, in particular the right of peoples

to self-determination, while facing current and emergent threats posed by mercenaries

or mercenary-related activities;

(b) To seek opinions and contributions from Governments and

intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations on questions relating to its

mandate;

(c) To monitor mercenaries and mercenary-related activities in all their

forms and manifestations in different parts of the world;

(d) To study and identify sources and causes, emerging issues,

manifestations and trends regarding mercenaries or mercenary-related activities and

their impact on human rights, particularly on the right of peoples to self-

determination;

(e) To monitor and study the effects on the enjoyment of human rights,

particularly the right of peoples to self-determination, of the activities of private

companies offering military assistance, consultancy and security services on the

international market and to prepare a draft of international basic principles that

encourage respect for human rights by those companies in their activities;

3. Also decides to authorize the Working Group to hold three sessions per

year of five working days each, two in Geneva and one in New York, in fulfilment of

the mandate outlined in the present resolution;

4. Requests the Working Group to continue the work already done by the

previous Special Rapporteurs on the strengthening of the international legal

framework for the prevention and sanction of the recruitment, use, financing and

training of mercenaries, taking into account the proposal for a new legal definition of

a mercenary drafted by the Special Rapporteur in his report to the Commission on

Human Rights at its sixtieth session (E/CN.4/2004/15, para. 47);

5. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights, as a matter of priority, to publicize the adverse effects of the activities

of mercenaries on the right of peoples to self-determination and, when requested and

where necessary, to render advisory services to States that are affected by those

activities;

6. Expresses its appreciation to the Office of the High Commissioner for

its support for convening in Panama the regional governmental consultation for Latin

American and Caribbean States on traditional and new forms of mercenary activities

as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples

to self-determination, in particular regarding the effects of the activities of private

military and security companies on the enjoyment of human rights;

7. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to inform the Council,

in a timely manner, of the dates and places for the convening of the other regional

governmental consultations on this matter, in conformity with paragraph 15 of

General Assembly resolution 62/145, bearing in mind that this process may lead to the

holding of a high-level round table of States, under the auspices of the United

Nations, to discuss the fundamental question of the role of the State as holder of the

monopoly of the use of force, with the objective of facilitating a critical understanding

of the responsibilities of the different actors, including private military and security

companies, in the current context, and their respective obligations for the protection

and promotion of human rights and in reaching a common understanding as to which

additional regulations and controls are needed at the international level;

8. Urges all States to cooperate fully with the Working Group in the

fulfilment of its mandate;

9. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the Working Group with all the necessary

assistance and support for the fulfilment of its mandate, both professional and

financial, including through the promotion of cooperation between the Working

Group and other components of the United Nations system that deal with countering

mercenary-related activities, in order to meet the demands of its current and future

activities;

10. Requests the Working Group to consult States, intergovernmental

organizations, non-governmental organizations and other relevant actors of civil

society in the implementation of the present resolution and to report its findings on the

use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of

the right of peoples to self-determination to the General Assembly at its sixty-third

session and to the Council in 2009 in accordance with its annual programme of work;

11. Decides to continue its consideration of this matter under the same

agenda item.

41st meeting 28 March 2008

Adopted by a recorded vote of 32 to 11, with 2 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour: Angola, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt,

Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali,

Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar,

Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uruguay,

Zambia.

Against: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands,

Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovenia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland.

Abstaining: Switzerland, Ukraine.