Forum: Disarmament Committee
Issue: Question of the legitimacy of paramilitary organizations, Private Military and Security Companies
Student Officer: Matteo Ferluga
Position: President of the Disarmament Committee
Introduction and Background Information
Throughout history the utilization of mercenaries in war has been a common use. If the employer is rich
enough, he may hire big armies without risking the life of his people. One of the most ancient examples is
the Ten Thousand army, the Greek mercenary army raised by Cirus the Younger to defeat his brother
Artaxerxes II, emperor of Persia, in 490 B.C.
The other side of the coin is that the mercenaries easily run out of control. A famous example is the sack of
Rome of the 1527, when the Landsknecht mercenaries, tired of waiting the pay from Charles V of Habsburg,
assaulted Rome and sacked it.
On December 4th, 1989 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed the resolution 44/34, which
basically forbids the existence of mercenaries forces. Called the International Convention against the
Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, it has become effective on October 20th, 2001. It
has been signed only by 33 states. Some of the major countries in the world (USA, Russian Federation,
People’s Republic of China, …) did not sign the convention.
Mercenaries, or Private Military Companies (PMCs), term created by David Shearer, have always been a
highly efficient resource. One of the first issues with the private market of force is that the difference
between a mercenary group and a PMC – thus an illegal or a legal way to offer military services – is so
unclear that has not even been clearly defined in the international law.
It is well-known that paramilitaries have been involved in numerous war crimes, in ethnic cleansing and in
the proliferation of illegal activities; such are drugs trafficking, commerce of slaves and others. According to
Musah and Fayemi, PMCs in Africa are linked with arms manufacturers, mineral exploiters, African’s
authoritarian governments and warlords. This leads to a militarization of the whole continent, closing the
way to democracy and development.
Optimists like David Shearer say that PMCs may help end civil conflicts taking one or the other side of the
war. Others, like Doug Brooks, say that PMCs can bring years of peacekeeping experience and NATO level
professionalism to protect vulnerable populations, as the Kurds being oppressed by the Islamic State in the
last months.
In the 2003 Iraqi war, every one out of ten people deployed in any military sector was employed by a PMC.
In 2004, the number was of about 20’000 soldiers hired by the PMCs in Iraq. In 2006, this number grew to
100’000 alongside with 133’000 US soldiers, according to a census by the US department of Defense. They
were deployed following the need to train the local army and police force.
A projection (Vines, 1999) outlined that the PMC market would grow from the US$ 55.6 billion in 1990 to
US$ 202 billion in 2010. Between 1994 and 2003, PMCs received from the US Department of Defense 3’000
contracts worth US$ 300 billion (ICIJ 2002:2)
“Every multilateral peace operation conducted by the United Nations (UN) since the 1990s included the
presence of Private Security Companies (PSCs) and companies such as Shell have regularly hired PSCs to
guard personnel and installations” says Deborah D. Avant (“Security studies – an introduction” edited by
Paul D. Williams, 2008, page 441).
These information raises some serious questions about the privatization of force. Is it undermining the
state control of force or is it enhancing it? Is it a new way of collective control of force?
Despite what the media say, only a few PMCs offer participation in ground combat. In fact, they usually
offer:

Operational support

Military advice and training

Logistical support

Internal security services
Singer has categorized the PMCs following
the “tip of the spear in battlespace” scheme,
with the tip representing the frontline
(Scheme on the right, “Security studies – an
introduction” edited by Paul D. Williams,
2008, page 443). The more the service is
close to the tip, the more dangerous the
service is.
These are the reasons why the CFMUNESCO believes it is a crucial issue to set international laws and
organizations that focus on the control, limitation or ban of all paramilitary organizations and PMCs.
Definition of Key Terms
Private Military Company: a Private Military Company (PMC) is a private company which offers paid
services or advices of military nature. It can be also called: Private Military Firm
(PMF), or Private Security Company (PSC). These corporations are considered
legal by the international community, unlike other paramilitary organizations.
Paramilitary organization: any organization that has a martial hierarchy. It may not possess firearms to be
considered as one. It can be considered as an unofficial or illegal PMC.
Mercenary: see definition in article 1 of the A/RES/44/34:
1. A mercenary is any person who:
(a) Is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on
behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or
paid to combatants of similar rank and functions in the armed forces of that party;
(c) Is neither a national of a party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a party to the conflict;
(d) Is not a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict; and
(e) Has not been sent by a State which is not a party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
2. A mercenary is also any person who, in any other situation:
(a) Is specially recruited locally or abroad for the purpose of participating in a concerted act of violence aimed at:
(i) Overthrowing a Government or otherwise undermining the constitutional order of a State; or
(ii) Undermining the territorial integrity of a State;
(b) Is motivated to take part therein essentially by the desire for significant private gain and is prompted by the promise or payment
of material compensation;
(c) Is neither a national nor a resident of the State against which such an act is directed;
(d) Has not been sent by a State on official duty; and
(e) Is not a member of the armed forces of the State on whose territory the act is undertaken.
Ethnicity: The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.
Ethnic cleansing: any action that aims to destroy a particular ethnicity.
Drugs trafficking: any process which involves the growth, the preparation, the distribution or the sale of any
kind of drug found in the Schedule I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic
Drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, etc.
War Crime: any war action that violates the International Humanitarian Law, such as:






murdering, mistreating, or deporting civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps
murdering or mistreating prisoners of war or civilian internees
forcing protected persons to serve in the forces of a hostile power
killing hostages
killing or punishing spies or other persons convicted of war crimes without a fair trial
wantonly destroying cities, towns, villages, or any object not warranted by military necessity
Major Players Involved
United States of America
The United States of America (USA) are the countries with the highest number of PMCs. These companies
are hired by governmental bodies and agencies. A famous example is the Academi, former Blackwater and
Xe Services.
The USA also never signed the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and
Training of Mercenaries.
Russian Federation
The Russian Federation (Russia) had a proliferation of PSCs after the fall of the Union of the Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR), as they were hired by oligarchs and criminals to protect their business. These PSCs are
composed in big part by former Special Forces soldiers (ex-KGB, FSB, GRU, etc.). Now the Russian
Federation still has some PMCs, some of them have been spotted in Syria, as the Slavonic corp.
Russia never signed the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of
Mercenaries.
United Nations (UN)
The UN created the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of
Mercenaries in order to avoid the proliferation of PMCs, mercenaries and paramilitary groups. It has been
signed by 33 states as of November 2013. Nevertheless, the UN is increasingly using PMCs for its missions.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
NATO countries reportedly use PMCs in their operations, from Yugoslavian to Afghani war, for field action
and/or training purposes.
Bibliography
NATO use of PMCs - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-isenberg/the-many-pmc-faces-ofnato_b_2200697.html
UN use of PMCs - https://www.globalpolicy.org/pmscs/50225-pmscs-a-the-un.html#articles
List of PMCs according to Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_private_military_contractors
International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm
FBI investigating on colombian paramilitary-US multinationals relations - http://colombiareports.co/fbi-incolombia-investigating-paramilitary-links-to-multinationals-report/
Paramilitaries, Multinationals and Colombian Labor - http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/1316
Rise of new paramilitary organizations that focus on drug trafficking in Colombia http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/colombia-bacrim-paramilitary-cartels-nuevo-arco-iris
International Committee of the Red Cross, report on PMCs http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/irrc_863_cameron.pdf
Academi Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academi
UN use of PMCs - http://www.dcaf.ch/Publications/UN-Use-of-Private-Military-and-Security-CompaniesPractices-and-Policies
NATO and Private Military Contractors https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/13142/Kjelstrupx2011x_Master.pdf?sequence=1
US Companies Hired to Train Foreign Armieshttps://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/199/41041.html
Amnesty USA page on PMCs and PSCs - http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/military-police-andarms/private-military-and-security-companies
Strategy of tension - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_of_tension
Operation Gladio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio
Report showing Academi PMC deployed in E. Ukraine - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2576490/Are-Blackwater-active-Ukraine-Videos-spark-talk-U-S-mercenary-outfit-deployed-Donetsk.html
War crimes during Yugoslavian wars - http://www.crimesofwar.org/a-z-guide/paramilitaries/
List of paramilitaries in Colombia and short description of their story - http://www.bbc.com/news/worldlatin-america-11400950
Single convention on narcotic drugs, 1961 - https://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf
Slavonic corp spotted in Syria - http://www.phantomreport.com/the-slavonic-corps-russian-mercenariesfighting-in-syria
“Security Studies – an introduction”, edited by Paul D. Williams, Routledge, 2008