Topic: Status of Defense Contractors and Non-National Combatants
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Christina Krysinski
School: Roeper School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Germany position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
The Federal Republic of Germany is first and foremost interested in the safety and fair treatment of all citizens affected by war. We are fully assured that through international humanitarian law and the International Criminal Court, which was ratified by 90 countries including Germany, the gaps in the existing system will be closed and implementation of international law can and will be more effective. The Federal Republic of Germany firmly hopes that the vicious matter of crimes against international humanitarian law going largely unpunished will be put to an end.
The status of defense contractors and non-national combatants is a question of great importance in this new age of warfare. As larger militaries increasingly privatize non-combatant tasks, such as with Germany’s Project Hercules, we must prepare for the possibility that these contractors may abuse their privileges when accompanying the military. It is not at all in the interest of the international community to allow civilians, whether defense contractors or non-national combatants, to take direct part in hostilities of war. Germany is concerned over the increasing use of such personnel by nations, some of which are our NATO allies, in regions as far from Europe as the Middle East and Central Asia.
Under international humanitarian law, civilians are defined as persons who are not members of the armed forces, and therefore are not granted the privilege of prison of war (POW) status. However, persons who accompany the armed forces, but who are not actually members, should be provided with an identity card upon receiving authorization from the armed forces which they accompany. These persons should be granted POW-status.
The argument that civilians maintain their POW-status even if they take direct part in hostilities is completely unacceptable. In the opinion of the Federal Republic of Germany, this blurs the line between civilians and combatants, and encourages civilians to take direct part in hostilities. Therefore, the Federal Republic of Germany maintains that these civilians are not entitled to take direct part in hostilities, and therefore lost their right to POW-status if they do so. To this end, contractors hired to undertake functions amounting to their taking a direct part in hostilities do not maintain their POW-status.
