Private military companies are military or security forces for hire. Working for the
highest bidder, they take over the roles of government forces. Although PMC’s may seem to be a
recent development from the recent turmoil in other countries, they have been around for
decades. PMC was first employed by the British Government to scout potential areas during a
ceasefire. These PMC’s have grown from scouting to legal mercenaries. From the 1960’s to now,
PMC’s have grown into a 100 billion dollar industry and operate in over 50 countries, PMC’s
have grown to the point to which there are approximately 43 mercenaries to 10 thousand people.
The fundamental problem with Private Military Companies is their lack of accountability
and the unrest they can cause by threatening the power of local law enforcement agencies and the
danger they pose to humanitarian efforts. This is mainly due to the fact that many of them
operate as lawless mercenaries over hired contractors.
The United Nations has dealt with this problem in the past by going to the extent of
passing resolutions that unfortunately do not work. In 1989, the United Nations held a
convention called the United Nations Mercenary Convention with the hopes of banning the use
of private military companies; however, only 17 of the 36 of the countries that attended actually
became signatories, showing that over 50% did not sign the International Convention against the
recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries treaty.
One solution is to have an international agreement regarding the definition for a “Private
Military Company” as defined by a UN oversight committee. This definition should include what
a Private Military Companies job can entail, how and when they operate. An example definition
could be the following: A Private Military Company can be defined as a private company who is
responsible for carrying out its clients orders to a tee, they may not target civilians, act as an offensive force unless when working in tandem with a government agency such as the military,
should withdraw immediately following the end of their contract, and cannot interfere with
humanitarian efforts unless ordered to do so by a humanitarian aid organization.
A strict definition like this can allow law enforcement agencies to differentiate and
prosecute legal PMC’s from illegal mercenaries. This would allow for the safe and regulated
operation of Private Military Companies, and the regulation and reduction of the number of
mercenaries.
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Written By: Volunteer Nayana Sharma
Date Published: 04/14/2021
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SOURCES:
Cimini, Tea. “The Invisible Army: Explaining Private Military and Security Companies.” E, 5
Aug. 2018,
www.e-ir.info/2018/08/02/the-invisible-army-explaining-private-military-and-security-c
ompanies/.
"“Mercenaries and War: Understanding Private Armies Today.” National Defense University
Press, 4 Dec. 2019,
ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/Article/2031922/mercenaries-and-war-understanding-pri
vate-armies-today/.
UNUniversity. “The Hazards of Going to War for Profit.” Our World,
ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-hazards-of-going-to-war-for-profit.
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