Topic: 2024-Private Military Contractors
Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Christina Merikas
From training armies and clearing minefields to protecting government officials, the USA is in favor of using Private Military Contractors (PMCs) to aid nations. Benefits include more efficient deployment, security contractors can be fired and hired, meaning that they can change to environments around the world easier, and local nationals hired by PMCs have knowledge about the site. Without PMCs (or Private Security Contractors), government officials agree that the DOD (Department of Defense) and the Department of State would have had an unfortunate outcome in Afghanistan and Iraq. The USA’s most publicized PMC was deployed in Iraq in 2003 – Blackwater. In their time in Iraq, they protected US Embassy members, trained the Iraqi army, and supported Iraq’s armed forces. By 2006, Blackwater was one of the PMCs with a contract for diplomatic security in Iraq. Aside from Iraq, they aided the USA in this time, as well. They sent troops and a helicopter during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Even so, scandal hit Blackwater. On September 16, 2007, Blackwater troops killed innocent Iraqi citizens in Nisour Square, in Iraq. Due to the fact that Blackwater was a private company, little was known about it. Main concerns included legality, cost (contracts reaching up to 488 million dollars and more), and lack of transparency. There is no law detailing what PMCs can and cannot do. Since they are not part of the official US Military, there are legal restrictions in the scenario where they have committed an offense. It becomes harder to prosecute members of PMCs and carry out a complete investigation.
Currently, the Department of Defense does not have any private military contractors deployed anywhere in the world. However, there is a chance that the US may utilize this resource in the Ukraine-Russia conflict to aid the Ukrainian military. With Ukraine at a current disadvantage, the US wants to support the Ukrainian military in any way it can. While there are no laws that prohibit the use of PMCs in the USA, the closest law that fits this category is the Neutrality Act.
Certain rules and treaties must be put in place to ensure the safety of all citizens. It is vital that additional information about the whereabouts of PMCs, as well as more transparency regarding their actions and violations of international law. PMCs should be given further research and supervision. The international community can prevent the misuse of PMCs in conflict zones by having resources to report unlawful behavior to the home country of the PMC, making harmful behavior known to officials. Additionally, transparency is key – having consequences for those who have committed violations will improve misuse, instead of ignoring PMCs. The role PMCs should play in humanitarian missions is aid. The focus should not be forcing external nations to rely on another country for their military. Rather, the focus should be on training official militaries and saving innocent civilians from harm. Their involvement can be balanced with the need for non-militarized aid delivery through partnership. These two kinds of organizations go hand-in-hand.
Sources
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