Background

Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 60/5, the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination (hereinafter the Working Group) is mandated to identify and monitor mercenaries and mercenary-related activities in all their forms and manifestations, across the globe, with a view to assessing their impact on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly on the rights of peoples to self-determination. It is also mandated to ensure that private military and/or security companies in State territories operate under contractual obligations, monitoring and controls that comply with national laws, and relevant international humanitarian and human rights obligations.

The Working Group on the use of mercenaries normally issues a call for input annually to inform its thematic reports to be presented at the Human Rights Council in September and at the UN General Assembly in October/November.

The Working Group intends to dedicate its 2026 thematic report to the General Assembly on the use of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies in organized criminal activities and illicit networks.

Previous thematic reports of the Working Group have highlighted that mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies are increasingly connected to criminal activities at the macro and micro level, across all regions of the world, in a myriad of ways including in the exploitation of natural resources (A/HRC/60/27), arms trafficking (A/HRC/57/45), illicit financing (A/79/305), cyber services (A/HRC/51/25), and activities and operations in the maritime sector (A/77/268).

Mercenaries, mercenary-related actors, and private military and/or security companies have been implicated in the protection, transport and logistics of illicit goods (such as illicit gold, timber, precious stones, fuel, chemicals, and drugs); the proliferation, diversion, trafficking, sale and supply of weapons, including from unregulated vessel based armories in the maritime domain; the supply and recruitment of retired or specially trained military and security personnel through clandestine networks; the participation in, and at times, creation of, ‘evasion infrastructure’ (such as shell companies, forged documents and certificates, crypto-currencies); the protection of cartel leaders and the training of hitmen and/or fighters; and the supply of hacking, spying, surveillance and intelligence gathering services in the cyber-domain.

Criminal activities and illicit networks flourish in legal and regulatory gaps. corruption, collusion, procurement fraud, manipulation of state institutions, and opaque financial practices -which may include the use of shell companies, offshore accounts, and subcontracting schemes-, that often appear when mercenaries, mercenary-related actors, and private military and/or security companies get involved in these fragile contexts. Besides, weak international cooperation and mutual legal assistance mechanisms among States allow the concealment of criminal activities behind various instances of corporate, contractual and even state protection. This, in turn, raises the risks of human rights abuses, exacerbates social tensions and promotes cycles of violence and instability.

The involvement of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors, and private military and/or security companies in criminal activities and illicit networks not only undermines State, regional, and international order and the enjoyment of peace and security, it has given rise to a new form of governance, ‘criminal governance’, whereby the State/state elites/state institutions govern through, and are underpinned by criminal economies and/or war economies. Mercenaries, mercenary related actors, and PMSCs play an important role in upholding criminal governance.

Such hybridization between public and private prevents attribution, responsibility and accountability, and this undermines constitutional order, impedes the right of peoples to self-determination, and serves as a barrier to justice and remedy for all.

Private military and security companies are also being deployed in new ways, to fight crime, to engage in urban warfare, and to surveil and dismantle gang structures and criminal enterprises.

On this basis, the Working Group has decided to examine the connections between mercenaries, mercenary-related actors, and private military and/or security companies and organized crime, and identify the key nodes and networks of such connections, as well as highlight new areas of concern, while establishing the impact such activities and operations have on human rights, constitutional order, international peace and security, and sustainable development.

The Working Group hopes to formulate concrete, time-bound and actionable recommendations to arrest this proliferating phenomenon towards ensuring respect for international human rights and the protection of civilian populations around the world.

Objectives

The Working Group is particularly interested in collecting information about:

1. The patterns, trends, dynamics and ways in which mercenaries, mercenary-related actors, and private military and/or security companies are connected to organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks. These include the actors, the forms and the channels regarding their involvement.
2. Documented cases that provide evidentiary links between mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies and organized crime, criminal activities, and illicit networks.
3. The limitations of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, specifically concerning the connections between mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies and organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks.
4. The impacts that organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks have on human rights, civilian populations, the right of peoples to self-determination, and international peace and security.
5. Recommendations for policies, instruments, mechanisms and measures to be adopted to address the involvement of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies in organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Working Group welcomes submissions from States, civil society organizations, academics, international and inter-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, private companies, individuals, and any other concerned actors. It also welcomes any information on the issues mentioned below. In addressing the thematic issues below, please provide to the extent available, examples, illustrations of good or bad practices, and recommendations that you consider important in the context of this call for inputs, as well as any analysis on future developments in this area.

Questions

1. Please provide relevant information, data, analysis, and/or assessments regarding the nature and connections between mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies, and organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks.
2. Please detail examples on mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies involvement in organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks including,
   (a) Why do they get involved
   (b) How do they get involved?
   (c) What is the nature of their involvement?
   (d) What specific organized criminal activities and illicit networks are they involved in?
3. What other ways are mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies connected to organized crime, such as fighting crime, engaging in urban warfare, special sting operations? Please provide examples and the nature and scoping of such arrangements, including regulatory, oversight and accountability mechanisms.
4. What are the human rights implications or impact of the activities and operations of mercenaries, mercenary related actors and private military and/or security companies in organised crime, criminal activities and illicit networks?
5. What mechanisms and measures exist to deal with mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies’ involvement in organized criminal activities and illicit networks, in order to promote accountability?
   (a) You may wish to consider national procedures, legislation, progressive initiatives or actions that have been taken to address or remedy violations of international law.
6. What measures or actions would you recommend that States, businesses and individuals take to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights of local civilian populations affected by the involvement of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies in organized crime, criminal activities and illicit networks?
7. Please provide any other relevant information that would assist the Working Group in the preparation of this report.

How inputs will be used?

All submissions will be posted on the mandate’s website. Should you wish to maintain confidentiality of your submission, kindly clearly indicate it at the moment of submission.