Middle East & North Africa / Comment
Blackwater: mercenaries and international law
27/09/2007 By Joana Abrisketa
A recent incident in which employees of the US firm Blackwater opened fire on and killed 17 civilians in Baghdad has provoked an outcry for new measures to bring such companies, which currently operate in a legal no-man’s land, under control. The presence of mercenaries in conflict zones is nothing new to the world, but their increasing role in contemporary wars is throwing up some tough challenges for the international legal system. With some circles calling for an outright ban on what they see as “the privatisation of war”, this document examines what legislation already exists to regulate private security firms and what can be done to make the current system more effective.
As one of the fastest growing industries in the world, it seems clear that the companies such as Blackwater have become one of the hallmarks of modern conflict. At present the Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention are the two main legal instruments that can be applied to the employees of such businesses, but an in-depth analysis of these agreements shows that loopholes and inadequate definitions make them desperately inadequate in the context of today’s international hostilities. It should come as small surprise, therefore, that the employees of these companies, who themselves receive little or no legal protection from the international system, often perceive themselves to be above or beyond the law.
Human rights groups also point out that by surrendering their monopoly on the right to use force, governments are throwing into question one of the defining features of the nation state. The United States currently employs between 25,000 and 50,000 mercenaries in Iraq, thereby substantially reducing official figures for the military deployment there, and increasing numbers of soldiers are leaving national armies in order to pursue higher economic rewards on offer from the private sector. This controversial phenomenon also raises questions about states’ responsibilities to prevent violence being exported from its territory as a service. At present South Africa is the only country which expressly prohibits its nationals from selling their military skills in another armed conflict.
In recent years various international organisations have convened groups of experts in order to design new laws that might bring some clarity to what is currently a hopelessly grey area, but so far no meaningful legal structure has been established. With these ongoing challenges in mind, this paper argues that both national governments and international organisations must redouble their efforts to clarify the responsibilities and obligations not only of mercenaries, but also of the companies they work for, national governments and the international system.
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Keywords
Conflict External intervention Iraq Middle East TerrorismBio author: Joana Abrisketa
