September 16, 2019
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Private Military Contractors

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General Assembly: Disarmament & International Security Committee

Topic: Private Military Contractors

Private Military Contractors (PMCs) have become increasingly prominent in global conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Emerging in the 1990s, the role of PMCs has expanded beyond traditional military functions to include a variety of services typically performed by state forces. These companies, which offer military expertise, security, and logistical support, have been employed in numerous conflicts, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in humanitarian missions under the United Nations (UN). While PMCs can enhance operational capacity, their presence also raises significant ethical, legal, and security concerns.

One of the primary challenges associated with PMCs is their ambiguous legal status. Unlike national armed forces, PMCs operate under private contracts, which often lack the transparency and accountability mechanisms typically applied to state actors. This has led to instances where PMCs have been implicated in human rights abuses without clear avenues for legal recourse. Additionally, the involvement of PMCs in humanitarian efforts has been criticized for promoting the militarization of aid, where the focus shifts from providing assistance to managing security risks. This militarization can create physical and psychological barriers between aid workers and local populations, undermining the effectiveness of humanitarian missions.

Given the growing reliance on PMCs, several critical issues need to be addressed by the international community: The regulation of PMCs to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law, preventing excessive militarization of humanitarian operations, and accountability for human rights abuses committed by PMCs. Addressing these issues is vital to ensuring that the use of PMCs contributes to, rather than detracts from, global security and peace building efforts.

Focus Questions:

  1. What legal frameworks should govern the operations of PMCs?
  2. How can the international community prevent the misuse of PMCs in conflict zones?
  3. What role should PMCs play in humanitarian missions, and how can their involvement be balanced with the need for non-militarized aid delivery?

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Submitted Position Papers

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In 2024-Private Military Contractors
Posted

FHN Delegates 11/20/2024 10:14:45 67.39.250.5

Topic: 2024-Private Military Contractors
Country: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Marcos Calderon

Before private military contractors were discovered, there were mercenaries for hire. PMCs have always been convenient for many reasons, the biggest being that countries don’t have to take any blame for controversial tasks. Another convenience is that they’re very cost-efficient because they’re cheaper than a full military force and don’t require a long-term commitment.
Venezuela over the past years has been noticed using Russia’s PMC group, Wagner, during protests in 2019. In 2020, Venezuela used Silverwater USA to help dispose of Maduro. Before Russia in 2019, Venezuela wasn’t seen using any PMCs. Venezuela is known to have many in-country issues with the election results and the sanctions against Maduro have created more tension, especially between the US and Venezuela. Venezuela believes that there should not be any harsh imposes on any policies with the PMCs due to needing help at times with protests but there should be imposes on what happens when a PMC is used against the president of a country.
In 2020, people in Venezuela miserably tried to throw Maduro out of office by hiring a PMC from the US to help with a raid. When we hired Wagner in 2019, it was to protect Maduro from the protests that were increasing throughout the country. It wasn’t to throw off our own president. Although Venezuela usually is very limited in its usage of PMCs, we believe that we as a country should decide how we wish to utilize and restrict PMCs. We are aware PMCs can be seen as a misuse of power in conflict zones and believe the best solution to this problem is that resolutions are created.
Venezuela believes that PMCs are here to help countries who desperately need it such as when protests get out of hand for only the military to control it. That being said, countries should be allowed to personally deal with a PMC that helps people go against their own country. We believe people should face the consequences of their actions and that we are allowed to include PMCs to show that lesson.

Work Cited
Sanderson, Ethan “Covert Private Military Operations In Venezuela” https://greydynamics.com/covert-private-military-operations-in-venezuela/
“Venezuela-Related Sanctions” https://www.state.gov/venezuela-related-sanctions/

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In 2024-Private Military Contractors
Posted

RichwoodsDelegates 11/08/2024 09:23:20 64.196.50.135

Topic: 2024-Private Military Contractors
Country: Sudan
Delegate Name: Johnny Thai

Ever since humanity appeared on Earth, humans have fought against each other. As time progressed, so has war. As humanity developed further, money would appear becoming a necessity within human society, and many would do anything for it. It was this desire for money that would cause many to fight wars be it for, or against their own countries. Before private military contractors, mercenaries were the arms for hire, and now, they appear again, but under a new name and supposedly abide by international laws.

Sudan had and still has relations with private military companies, most notably the Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company, which has most notably supplied Sudan with equipment and medicine during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wagner Group has also aided Sudan in the defense of its mining operations, as the government of Sudan does not have the manpower to defend its resources. The delegation of Sudan urges the members of the United Nations to not impose harsh policies upon the private military companies due to the need of many countries, such as Sudan, Afghanistan, and surprisingly, Japan, who need these private military companies to aid in the defense of their nation for reasons such as being imposed by international law to not be able to raise a military, Japan as previously stated is a case of this, as well as not enough able or willing citizens who wish to be part of the armed forces.

The delegation of Sudan asks the members of the United Nations to allow countries themselves determine how they wish to utilize and restrict private military companies that come upon their soil, for each nation has their own needs that these companies can provide. The delegation of Sudan acknowledges that private military companies have been cited to misuse its powers within conflict zones and requests this general assembly to regulate them through resolutions such as providing situations private military companies may defend themselves and their client. This also provides a demonstration of the roles private military companies may have, especially within humanitarian aid allowing the protection of said aid against organizations such as the Abu Nidal Organization which has harmed Sudanese citizens during the years of 2019 and 2020, around the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thus, the delegation Sudan implores the general assembly of the United Nations to further allow the operations of private military companies to aid nations and humanitarian efforts who require them as stated previously, due to the nature of conflict zones around Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Though private military companies have been at the forefront of international war crimes, they have been few and far inbetween to harshly regulate these companies. The private military companies, such as the Wagner Group can help nations who require it, without the need to concede to other nations in return for aid, thus the delegation of Sudan requests again, to regulate private military companies lightly.

References:

“Sudan.” United States Department of State, www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2019/sudan/.

“Sudan.” United States Department of State, www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2020/sudan/.

admin, and admin. “Japan Says Private Military Contractors Are Government Employees.” Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A., 24 Apr. 2018, www.injuredoverseas.com/japan-says-private-military-contractors-government-employees/.

Howell, Jeremy, et al. “Wagner in Sudan: What Have Russian Mercenaries Been up To?” BBC News, 23 Apr. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65328165.

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In 2024-Famine in Conflict Zones, 2024-Gender Equality in Rural Areas, 2024-GMOs and Food Security, 2024-Human Trafficking, 2024-Indigenous Languages, 2024-Indiscriminate Weapons, 2024-Private Military Contractors, 2024-Spread of Animal Viruses, 2024-Substance Abuse, 2024-Supply Chain Stability, 2024-The Situatin in the South China Sea, 2024-The Situation in Guyana, 2024-The Situation in Rwanda, 2024-Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
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