... contractual work on the one hand and that of mercenaries on the other. Over the past decade, the phenomenon of mercenarism has become virtually inseparable in various international circles from the phenomenon of private military and security companies (PMSCs). There is often a great deal of confusion when people working under contract for private military and security organizations are not distinguished from true mercenaries, which are internationally outlawed. Mercenarism per se is not a new phenomenon. The word “mercenary” appeared in the English language in the 14th century and is derived from the Latin «mercenarius», which originally ...
... selling their professional skills for pay, well knowing that it is not for a noble cause, but to kill and destroy outside any licit or ethically permissible context.
His successor, Shaista Shameem, acknowledged that there might be a difference between mercenaries and PMSCs, yet expressed concern that states might be unconsciously conceding their control of force to private, profit-seeking actors.
The issue is highly ambiguous, hence requires closer examination. Article 1 of the International Convention against the ...
... firms to NGOs and even the United Nations. Others, including former Special Rapporteur on Mercenaries of UN’s Commission on Human Rights, Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, claim that these factors provide no basis for real differentiation between mercenaries and PMSCs, since the primacy of the financial motive in this case can be considered decisive in characterizing a person selling his military skills as mercenary. (4)
One basic typology of PMSCs in fact distinguishes between private military companies and ...