Topic: Status of Defense Contractors and Non-National Combatants
Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Branden Goller
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Philippines position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
In recent years an issue-one that has been neglected and has thrived on the lack of oversight by the international community-has mushroomed into an epidemic. Without enforcement or regulation, the status of defense contractors and non-national combatants has remained an ambiguous gray area. These loopholes have allowed for rampant economic exploitation and widespread abuse of human rights. Stark examples of this are the economic gains showed by private military companies (PMC) such as Blackwater USA and the inhumane acts committed in Guantanamo Bay.
The birth of private military companies is a result of multiple dynamic elements in the international community: the end of the Cold War, warfare that increasingly integrated soldiers and civilians, and a trend toward the privatization and outsourcing of government functions. At the close of the cold war armies were downsized because there was no longer a need for large scale armies. The collapse of the Soviet Union created political and economic instability on a large scale creating a demand for more troops. Also the rules of warfare were became skewed as traditional armies became less prevalent and engagements became more disorganized. These factors influenced the western powers and they became more reluctant to intervene. At the same time advanced militaries grew increasingly reliant on commercial technology and goods; technology and goods owned, manufactured, and operated by private businesses. Not soon after, governments began to privatize many stock government functions.
Private military companies have operated in more than 50 nations, on every continent, but nowhere has the role of PMC been more integral-and more controversial-than in Iraq. There have been numerous controversial incidents in Iraq that have sparked international interest in non-national combatants and private military companies.
Though not directly affected by this issue, the Philippines’s position is that a resolution must be met, “We join the Secretary General’s call for ISAF countries to adopt common robust rules of engagement to enhance its ability to respond to the more difficult situations that it is expected to encounter”. By doing so, the grey areas that plague this issue could be fleshed out. The Philippines position is supported by the European Union and follows the Geneva Convention.
There are many underlying problems concerning and relating to the status of non-national combatants that create the current loopholes. Any business is created to make money and private military companies are still after-all businesses. They are financially motivated and do not always act in accordance to the client’s interests or the public good. Any oversight is minimal at best and PMCs often exploit this for economic gain. Also PMCs are not required to fulfill their duty as they fall outside the military chain of command. In cases where a job is considered to dangerous or unprofitable the company can suspend or even default on its operations. The regulations that control the PMC industry are lacking. The unregulated nature of the industry has created an environment in which a PMC can work for anyone, do almost any job, and recruit anyone. Governments can employ private military companies to accomplish goals they otherwise wouldn’t employ through traditional means. This means any government can do things that are unpopular or controversial because they are a private entity. PMC companies also create legal dilemmas, “On both the personal and the corporate level, there is a striking absence of regulation, oversight, and enforcement. Although private military firms and their employees are now integral parts of many military operations, they tend to fall through the cracks of current legal codes, which sharply distinguish civilians from soldiers.”
In order to resolve these complications a strict oversight must be enforced by the international community and criminal accountability must be established. Also an explicit, clear definition and legal status must be established for any non-national combatant.
Ultimately, the responsibility of handling this issue ultimately falls into the hands of the international community and the governments that employ PMCs and interact with other non-national combatants. It is their obligation to be responsible regulators of the PMC industry and events involving non-national combatants. If left unchecked the status of non-national combatants will remain a threat to international peace and stability.
