A/RES/59/178 GA

United Nations A/RES/59/178 General Assembly Distr.: General 3 March 2005 Fifty-ninth session Agenda item 104 04-48694 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2004 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/59/502)] 59/178. Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 58/162 of 22 December 2003, and taking note of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/5 of 8 April 2004,1 Recalling also all of its relevant resolutions, in which, inter alia, it condemned any State that permitted or tolerated the recruitment, financing, training, assembly, transit and use of mercenaries with the objective of overthrowing the Governments of States Members of the United Nations, especially those of developing countries, or of fighting against national liberation movements, and recalling further the relevant resolutions and international instruments adopted by the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Organization of African Unity, inter alia, the Organization of African Unity Convention for the elimination of mercenarism in Africa,2 as well as the African Union,3 Reaffirming the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations concerning the strict observance of the principles of sovereign equality, political independence, the territorial integrity of States, the self-determination of peoples, the non-use of force or of the threat of use of force in international relations and non-interference in affairs within the domestic jurisdiction of States, Reaffirming also that, by virtue of the principle of self-determination, all peoples have the right freely to determine their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and that every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, _______________ 1 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2004, Supplement No. 3 (E/2004/23), chap. II, sect. A. 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1490, No. 25573. 3 On 8 July 2002, the Organization of African Unity ceased to exist and, in its place, the African Union came into force on 9 July 2002. A/RES/59/178 2 Reaffirming further the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,4 Alarmed and concerned at the danger that the activities of mercenaries constitute to peace and security in developing countries, in particular in Africa and in small States, Deeply concerned at the loss of life, the substantial damage to property and the negative effects on the policy and economies of affected countries resulting from criminal mercenary activities, Extremely alarmed and concerned about recent mercenary activities in Africa and the threat they pose to the integrity of and respect for the constitutional order of those countries, Convinced that, notwithstanding the way in which they are used or the form that they take to acquire some semblance of legitimacy, mercenaries or mercenary-related activities are a threat to peace, security and the self-determination of peoples and an obstacle to the enjoyment of human rights by peoples, 1. Takes note of the brief report prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination;5 2. Welcomes the appointment of Shaista Shameem as Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the use of mercenaries as a means of impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, and encourages her to continue and further advance the valuable work done and the important contributions made by Enrique Bernales Ballesteros in the sixteen years of his mandate; 3. Reaffirms that the use of mercenaries and their recruitment, financing and training are causes for grave concern to all States and violate the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; 4. Recognizes that armed conflict, terrorism, arms trafficking and covert operations by third Powers, inter alia, encourage the demand for mercenaries on the global market; 5. Urges all States to take the necessary steps and to exercise the utmost vigilance against the menace posed by the activities of mercenaries and to take legislative measures to ensure that their territories and other territories under their control, as well as their nationals, are not used for the recruitment, assembly, financing, training and transit of mercenaries for the planning of activities designed to impede the right of peoples to self-determination, to destabilize or overthrow the Government of any State or to dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the right of peoples to self-determination; 6. Requests all States to exercise the utmost vigilance against any kind of recruitment, training, hiring or financing of mercenaries by private companies _______________ 4 Resolution 2625 (XXV), annex. 5 See A/59/191. A/RES/59/178 3 offering international military consultancy and security services, as well as to impose a specific ban on such companies intervening in armed conflicts or actions to destabilize constitutional regimes; 7. Welcomes the entry into force of the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries,6 and calls upon all States that have not yet done so to consider taking the necessary action to accede to or ratify the Convention; 8. Welcomes also the cooperation extended by those countries that have received visits from the Special Rapporteur and the adoption by some States of national legislation that restricts the recruitment, assembly, financing, training and transit of mercenaries; 9. Condemns recent mercenary activities in Africa, and commends the African Governments on their collaboration in thwarting those illegal actions, which posed a threat to the integrity of and respect for the constitutional order of those countries and the exercise of the right of their peoples to self-determination; 10. Calls upon States to investigate the possibility of mercenary involvement whenever and wherever criminal acts of a terrorist nature occur and to bring to trial those found responsible or to consider their extradition, if so requested, in accordance with domestic law and applicable bilateral or international treaties; 11. Condemns any form of impunity granted to perpetrators of mercenary activities and to those responsible for the use, recruitment, financing and training of mercenaries, and urges all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to bring them, without distinction, to justice; 12. Requests the new Special Rapporteur to circulate to States and consult with them on the new proposal for a legal definition of a mercenary drafted by the former Special Rapporteur7 and to report her findings to the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly; 13. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner, 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; 14. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to convene a third meeting of experts 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, respecting the main objectives defined in paragraph 16 of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/5;1 15. Requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to take into account, in the discharge of her mandate, the fact that mercenary activities continue to occur in many parts of the world and are taking on new forms, manifestations and modalities, and, in this regard, requests her to pay particular attention to the impact of the activities of private companies offering military assistance, consultancy and security services on the international market on the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination; _______________ 6 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2163, No. 37789. 7 See E/CN.4/2004/15, para. 47. A/RES/59/178 4 16. Urges all States to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur in the fulfilment of her mandate; 17. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the necessary assistance and support for the fulfilment of her mandate, both professional and financial, including through the promotion of cooperation between the Special Rapporteur and other components of the United Nations system that deal with countering mercenary-related activities; 18. Requests the Special Rapporteur to consult States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in the implementation of the present resolution and to report, with specific recommendations, to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session her findings on the use of mercenaries to undermine the right of peoples to self-determination; 19. Decides to consider at its sixtieth session the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination under the item entitled “Right of peoples to self-determination”. 74th plenary meeting 20 December 2004

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