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The '''United Nations Mercenary Convention''' (formally, the '''International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries''') is a 2001 [[United Nations]] [[multilateral treaty|treaty]] that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of [[mercenary|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,<ref name=UN-Mercenary-Convention>[http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries] A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention) [http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/mercenaries.htm Entry into force: 20 October 2001] → {{wayback|url=http://www.wikipedia.org|date=20080209231529}}</ref> and has been ratified by almost no countries. |
The '''United Nations Mercenary Convention''' (formally, the '''International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries''') is a 2001 [[United Nations]] [[multilateral treaty|treaty]] that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of [[mercenary|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,<ref name=UN-Mercenary-Convention>[http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries] A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention) [http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/mercenaries.htm Entry into force: 20 October 2001] → {{wayback|url=http://www.wikipedia.org|date=20080209231529}}</ref> and has been ratified by almost no countries. |
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Countries that have ''not'' ratified the convention and seem unlikely to, include |
Countries with large militaries that have ''not'' ratified the convention and seem unlikely to, include [[China]], [[France]], [[India]], [[Japan]], [[Russia]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]].{{cn|date=July 2015}} |
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== Definition of a mercenary == |
== Definition of a mercenary == |
Revision as of 00:31, 18 September 2015
The United Nations Mercenary Convention (formally, 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 almost no countries.
Countries with large militaries that have not ratified the convention and seem unlikely to, include China, France, India, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[citation needed]
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 November 2013, the convention had been ratified by 33 states.
Below are the states that have signed, ratified or acceded to the convention.[3][4]
Country | Signing date | Ratification date | Notes |
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February 5, 1990 | August 21 1995 | |
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March 12, 1990 | ||
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March 20, 1990 | Originally signed as Zaire; successor state is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. | |
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April 4, 1990 | ||
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July 17, 1990 | September 11, 1991 | |
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July 20, 1990 | Originally signed as the People's Republic of the Congo; successor state is the Republic of the Congo. | |
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September 21, 1990 | September 13, 1993 | Originally signed as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; successor state is Ukraine. |
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October 5, 1990 | ||
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February 27, 1990 | August 10, 1990 | |
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November 20, 1990 | July 14, 1999 | |
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December 12, 1990 | ||
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December 13, 1990 | July 10, 1992 | |
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December 13, 1990 | May 28, 1997 | Originally signed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic; successor state is the Republic of Belarus. |
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December 17, 1990 | ||
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December 21, 1990 | Jan. 1, 1996 | |
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December 28, 1990 | ||
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February 25, 1991 | ||
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December 28, 1990 | ||
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July 8, 1993 | ||
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June 8, 1995 | ||
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September 18, 1996 | ||
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April 12, 1997 | ||
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April 14, 1997 | With reservations. | |
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January 19, 1998 | ||
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February 9, 1998 | ||
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March 26, 1999 | ||
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July 9, 1999 | ||
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March 27, 2000 | ||
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September 22, 2000 | ||
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March 12, 2001 | Originally signed as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; successor state is the Republic of Serbia. | |
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September 20, 2001 | ||
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April 12, 2002 | ||
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May 5, 2002 | With reservations. | |
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June 18, 2003 | ||
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Sept. 22, 2004 | ||
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September 16, 2005 | ||
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February 28, 2006 | With reservations. | |
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October 23, 2006 | ||
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March 23, 2007 | ||
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September 2, 2007 | ||
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January 1, 2008 | ||
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January 19, 2008 | With reservations. | |
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November 12, 2013 |
See also
- Command responsibility
- Jus in bello
- Private military company
- Mercenary
- Unlawful combatant#Mercenaries
- Arms trade
References
- ^ a b International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention) Entry into force: 20 October 2001 → Template:Wayback
- ^ 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
- ^ http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebSign?ReadForm&id=530&ps=P
- ^ http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebSign?ReadForm&id=530&ps=S
External links
- Text of the convention, list of signatories
- Procedural history and related documents on the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries in the Historic Archives of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
- United Nations treaties
- Treaties adopted by United Nations General Assembly resolutions
- Mercenaries
- Private military contractors
- Treaties concluded in 1989
- Treaties entered into force in 2001
- Treaties of Azerbaijan
- Treaties of Barbados
- Treaties of Belarus
- Treaties of Belgium
- Treaties of Cameroon
- Treaties of Costa Rica
- Treaties of Croatia
- Treaties of Cuba
- Treaties of Cyprus
- Treaties of Georgia (country)
- Treaties of Guinea
- Treaties of Honduras
- Treaties of Italy
- Treaties of Liberia
- Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
- Treaties of the Maldives
- Treaties of Mali
- Treaties of Mauritania
- Treaties of New Zealand
- Treaties of Qatar
- Treaties of Peru
- Treaties of Moldova
- Treaties of Saudi Arabia
- Treaties of Senegal
- Treaties of Seychelles
- Treaties of Suriname
- Treaties of Syria
- Treaties of Togo
- Treaties of Turkmenistan
- Treaties of Ukraine
- Treaties of Uruguay
- Treaties of Uzbekistan
- 1989 in New York
- Treaties of Venezuela