A/RES/73/159 GA

United Nations A/RES/73/159 General Assembly Distr.: General 11 January 2019 18-22254 (E) 150119 *1822254* Seventy-third session Agenda item 73 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 17 December 2018 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/73/588)] 73/159. 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 all of its previous resolutions on the subject, including resolution 72/158 of 19 December 2017, and Human Rights Council resolutions 15/12 of 30 September 2010,1 15/26 of 1 October 2010,2 18/4 of 29 September 2011,3 21/8 of 27 September 2012, 4 24/13 of 26 September 2013, 5 27/10 of 25 September 2014, 6 30/6 of 1 October 2015,7 33/4 of 29 September 2016,8 36/3 of 28 September 20179 and 39/5 of 27 September 2018, 10 as well as all resolutions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights in this regard, 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 or 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 __________________ 1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/65/53/Add.1), chap. II. 2 Ibid., chap. I. 3 Ibid., Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/66/53/Add.1 and A/66/53/Add.1/Corr.1), chap. II. 4 Ibid., Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III. 5 Ibid., Sixty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/68/53/Add.1), chap. III. 6 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1, A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.1 and A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.2), chap. IV, sect. A. 7 Ibid., Seventieth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/70/53/Add.1), chap. III. 8 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/71/53/Add.1 and A/71/53/Add.1/Corr.1), chap. II. 9 Ibid., Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/72/53/Add.1), chap. II. 10 Ibid., Seventy-third Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/73/53/Add.1), chap. III. A/RES/73/159 Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination 18-22254 2/4 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,11 as well as by the African Union, 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, Deeply concerned at the continuation of acts or threats of foreign military intervention and occupation that are threatening to suppress, or have already suppressed, the right to self-determination of peoples and nations, Reaffirming the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,12 Acknowledging with appreciation the work and contributions of the open-ended intergovernmental working group established by the Human Rights Council with the mandate of considering the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory framework, including the option of elaborating a legally binding instrument on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies, Alarmed and concerned at the danger that the activities of mercenaries constitute to peace and security in developing countries in various parts of the world, in particular in areas of armed conflict, and about the threat they pose to the integrity of and respect for the constitutional order of the affected countries, Deeply concerned at the loss of life, the substantial damage to property and the negative effects on the policies and economies of affected countries resulting from international criminal mercenary activities, Convinced that, notwithstanding the way in which mercenaries or mercenary- related activities are used or the form that they take to acquire some semblance of legitimacy, they are a threat to peace, security and the self-determination of peoples and an obstacle to the enjoyment of all human rights by peoples, 1. Takes note with appreciation of the latest report of the Working Group of the Human Rights Council on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination;13 2. Reaffirms that the use of mercenaries and their recruitment, financing, protection and training are causes for grave concern to all States and that they violate the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; 3. Recognizes that armed conflict, terrorism, arms trafficking and covert operations by third Powers encourage, inter alia, the demand for mercenaries on the global market; 4. Urges, once again, all States to take the steps necessary 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 __________________ 11 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1490, No. 25573. 12 Resolution 2625 (XXV), annex. 13 A/73/303. Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination A/RES/73/159 3/4 18-22254 control are not used for, and that their nationals do not take part in, the recruitment, assembly, financing, training, protection or 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 accordance with the right of peoples to self-determination; 5. Requests all States to exercise the utmost vigilance against any kind of recruitment, training, hiring or financing of mercenaries by private companies offering international military consultancy and security services, and to impose a specific ban on such companies intervening in armed conflicts or actions to destabilize constitutional regimes; 6. Encourages States that import military assistance or consultancy and security services provided by private companies to establish national regulatory mechanisms for registering and licensing those companies in order to ensure that the imported services provided by those private companies neither impede the enjoyment of human rights nor violate human rights in the recipient country; 7. Emphasizes its utmost concern about the impact of the activities of private military and security companies on the enjoyment of human rights, in particular when operating in armed conflicts, and notes that private military and security companies and their personnel are rarely held accountable for violations of human rights; 8. Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to consider acceding to or ratifying the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries;14 9. Welcomes the cooperation extended by those countries that have received a visit by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries since the establishment of its mandate and the adoption by some States of national legislation that restricts the recruitment, assembly, financing, training and transit of mercenaries; 10. Condemns recent mercenary activities in developing countries in various parts of the world, in particular in areas of conflict, and the threat they pose 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, and stresses the importance for the Working Group on the use of mercenaries of looking into sources and root causes, as well as the political motivations of mercenaries and for mercenary-related activities; 11. 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 national law and applicable bilateral or international treaties; 12. 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; 13. Calls upon Member States, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to cooperate with and assist the judicial prosecution of those accused of mercenary activities in transparent, open and fair trials; 14. Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries and other experts to continue their participation, including by submitting contributions, in other subsidiary bodies of the Human Rights Council considering issues related to the use of mercenaries and mercenary-related activities in all their forms and manifestations, including private military and security companies; __________________ 14 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2163, No. 37789. A/RES/73/159 Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination 18-22254 4/4 15. Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to continue the work carried out by the previous mandate holders with respect to 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 on the use of mercenaries as a means of impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination in his report submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth session15 and the evolving phenomenon of mercenaries and its related forms; 16. Also requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to continue to study and identify sources and causes, emerging issues, manifestations and trends regarding mercenaries or mercenary-related activities and private military and security companies and their impact on human rights, particularly on the right of peoples to self-determination; 17. 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; 18. Recommends that all Member States, including those confronted with the phenomenon of private military and security companies, as contracting States, States of operations, home States or States whose nationals are employed to work for a private military and security company, contribute to the work of the open-ended intergovernmental working group, taking into account the initial work done by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries; 19. Urges all States to cooperate fully with the Working Group on the use of mercenaries in the fulfilment of its mandate; 20. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide the Working Group on the use of mercenaries with all the assistance and support necessary 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; 21. Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to consult States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations on the implementation of the present resolution and to report, with specific recommendations, to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session its findings on the use of mercenaries to undermine the enjoyment of all human rights and to impede the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination; 22. Decides to consider 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 at its seventy-fourth session under the item entitled “Right of peoples to self-determination”. 55th plenary meeting 17 December 2018 __________________ 15 See E/CN.4/2004/15, para. 47.

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