15 November 2019
SUBMITTED TO: Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)
FROM: Republic of South Korea
SUBJECT: Private Military Contractors
DELEGATE: Anja Peters, Royal Oak High School
Over the past several years, private military contractors, have increased in business and prevalence significantly, the ratio of military personnel to private military personnel has gone from 50:1 in the 1990’s to 10:1 in just a short few years. There are huge numbers of PMC personnel in Syria and Iraq, also not so coincidentally those are big zones of conflict. These PMC’s inflict mass amounts of abuse on people within their control and area, for example the prison in Iraq and that situation. Although there is so much abuse going on in these companies, the money involved makes the situation difficult because it is one with great power and influence. PMC’s can be hired to protect people in areas of high conflict, like in Syria and Iraq however these PMC’s in war zones can be classified as unlawful combatants. It is unsure whether PMC’s are considered mercenaries in these kinds of situations.
South Korea barely has its foot in the door with PMCs, and we are open and looking forward for many discussions on how PMCs should be regulated and handled. The UN Mercenary Convention was a progressive step in moving forward with what actions to take next, although many countries didn’t sign and we need to address those differences in committee as well. South Korea believes in strong regulation of PMCs in order to reduce the abuse going on with these private companies.
- Anja Peters