United Nations Mercenary Convention

The United Nations Mercenary Convention, officially the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, is a 2001 United Nations treaty that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of mercenaries. At the 72nd plenary meeting on 4 December 1989, the United Nations General Assembly concluded the convention as its resolution 44/34. The convention entered into force on 20 October 2001[1] and has been ratified by 35 states.

Definition of a mercenary

Article 1 of the Convention has the following definition of a mercenary:

1. A mercenary is any person who:

(a) Is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar rank and functions in the armed forces of that party;
(c) Is neither a national of a party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a party to the conflict;
(d) Is not a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict; and
(e) Has not been sent by a State which is not a party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.

2. A mercenary is also any person who, in any other situation:

(a) Is specially recruited locally or abroad for the purpose of participating in a concerted act of violence aimed at:
(i) Overthrowing a Government or otherwise undermining the constitutional order of a State; or
(ii) Undermining the territorial integrity of a State;
(b) Is motivated to take part therein essentially by the desire for significant private gain and is prompted by the promise or payment of material compensation;
(c) Is neither a national nor a resident of the State against which such an act is directed;
(d) Has not been sent by a State on official duty; and
(e) Is not a member of the armed forces of the State on whose territory the act is undertaken.
— UN Mercenary Convention[1]

One time Judge Advocate Todds S. Milliard has argued that the convention and Article 47 of Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) are designed to cover the activities of mercenaries in post colonial Africa, and do not address adequately the use of private military companies by sovereign states.[2]

Signatories and parties

As of December 2016, the convention had been ratified by 35 states.

Below are the states that have signed, ratified or acceded to the convention.[3][4]

CountrySigning dateRatification dateNotes
ItalyFebruary 5, 1990August 21, 1995
SeychellesMarch 12, 1990
ZaireMarch 20, 1990Signed as Zaire; successor state is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
NigeriaApril 4, 1990
MaldivesJuly 17, 1990September 11, 1991
P.R. CongoJuly 20, 1990Signed as the People's Republic of the Congo; successor state is the Republic of the Congo.
UkraineSeptember 21, 1990September 13, 1993Signed as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
MoroccoOctober 5, 1990
SurinameFebruary 27, 1990August 10, 1990
UruguayNovember 20, 1990July 14, 1999
GermanyDecember 12, 1990
BarbadosDecember 13, 1990July 10, 1992
BelarusDecember 13, 1990May 28, 1997Signed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
RomaniaDecember 17, 1990
CameroonDecember 21, 1990January 1, 1996
PolandDecember 28, 1990
TogoFebruary 25, 1991
AngolaDecember 28, 1990
CyprusJuly 8, 1993
GeorgiaJune 8, 1995
TurkmenistanSeptember 18, 1996
AzerbaijanApril 12, 1997
Saudi ArabiaApril 14, 1997With reservations.
UzbekistanJanuary 19, 1998
MauritaniaFebruary 9, 1998
QatarMarch 26, 1999
SenegalJuly 9, 1999
CroatiaMarch 27, 2000
LibyaSeptember 22, 2000
SerbiaMarch 12, 2001January 14, 2016Signed as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Costa RicaSeptember 20, 2001
MaliApril 12, 2002
BelgiumMay 5, 2002With reservations.
GuineaJune 18, 2003
New ZealandSeptember 22, 2004
LiberiaSeptember 16, 2005
MoldovaFebruary 28, 2006With reservations.
MontenegroOctober 23, 2006
PeruMarch 23, 2007
CubaSeptember 2, 2007
SyriaJanuary 19, 2008With reservations.
VenezuelaNovember 12, 2013
EcuadorDecember 12, 2016

See also

References
  1. International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries Archived February 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention) Entry into force: 20 October 2001→ Archived 9 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Milliard, Todd S.; Overcoming post-colonial myopia: A call to recognize and regulate private military companies(PDF), in Military Law Review Vol 173, June 2003. At the time of publication Major Milliard was a Judge Advocate in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army. Page 5. Paragraph 1
  3. http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebSign?ReadForm&id=530&ps=P
  4. http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebSign?ReadForm&id=530&ps=S
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