Madeline Tietema
Country: Peru
Committee: DISEC
Topic: Private Military Contractions
Forest Hills Northern
The topic of international private military companies is controversial for many reasons. They are both very beneficial to countries in the protection of their citizens, but they also contribute to the chaos that has been going on with terrorist groups worldwide. The United Nations has been extremely critical of private security contractors, but has been increasingly turning to the contractors in their missions abroad. On the one hand, these companies facilitate the security of many nations so that the government need not handle every conflict. According to Virginia Foxx, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, “Many contractors operating in Iraq have been subjected to a great deal of scrutiny. While I understand there may be some waste as contractors operate in a war zone, a vast majority of the work done by our military contractors is praiseworthy. American contractors deliver critical supplies, infrastructure and security in an incredibly hostile environment.” She goes on to explain that the individuals that make up these troops are well trained and equipped and work side by side with the United States’ military to protect its citizens; however, she fails to encompass the negative aspects of these organizations. Countless mishaps have occurred in part by private military contractors resulting in the harm and death of the citizens of countries that use these companies all around the world. According to Foreign Policy Director, Peter W. Singer, “Army investigators have reported that six employees of private contractors were involved in incidents of abuse, but potentially more may have been involved in other crimes in Iraq and elsewhere.” This outrageous event and many others must be taken into consideration by the United Nations effective immediately.
To this point, the United Nations’ efforts to regulate the private military industry have been largely inadequate. Panel discussions have taken place in the United Nations’ General Assembly to discuss the implications of what they describe as “privatization of war.” Though many members of this assembly would opine that private military contractors must be somehow taken under control, the U.N.’s top security official, Gregory Starr, the former head of U.S. State Department Security, has also been advocating an increase in the use of private security firms. According to columnist Colum Lynch, “the embrace of a private security contractor marks a shift for the United Nations, which has relied on governments to supply peacekeepers to protect U.N. staff.” Amongst all of these opinions and discussions, measures have yet to be taken for the creation of an answer to this ongoing debate.
In the country of Peru, there is one prominent military contractor: Defion Internacional. Defion Internacional is a Lima, Peru based Private Military Company that recruits and trains security, administrative, logistic and professional services personnel to provide world wide services. With offices based internationally, Defion Internacional recruits, vetts and trains personnel for different companies around the world. Defion does not solely contract for security guard services. The company also hires personnel for work outside of the security industry such as food services personnel, language instructors, insurance agents, professional medical services to name a few. In short, this organization is very beneficial to the country. In a resolution, Peru would like to see more regulation to prevent human right abuses regarding this topic, but not be stripped of a very positive aspect of its national security. Peru looks forward to working toward a settlement that is agreeable and advantageous for most countries in this committee.
- Madeline Tietema
