Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Conclusion 4
Seventh Report - Guns for gold: the Wagner Network exposed
Published 26 Jul 2023
Paragraph 25
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee The Wagner Group and beyond: proxy Private Military Companies All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
There is a significant gap between perception and capability when it comes to the Wagner Network. Despite the continued belief by some that inviting them into a country will result in benefits, the reality is that regimes pay a high price for working with the Wagner Network. The original outcomes are rarely achieved. During the past 10 years, Wagner fighters have left behind a trail of atrocities in virtually all theatres where they have operated, with limited accountability. They may present themselves as a highly trained, professional fighting force but their indiscipline, their excessive violence and their financial motivation mean that the network has functioned like an international criminal mafia, fuelling corruption and plundering natural resources. Some regimes’ reliance on the network for survival means that Wagner actors show little respect for the citizens or the laws of the countries where they operate. The network’s military and political involvement in the Central African Republic is all-encompassing and should serve as a warning of what may happen elsewhere. Even when Wagner’s deployments do not result in benefits for the host country, they are often a great success for the network itself due to the lucrative resources it accesses, particularly in the Central African Republic and Sudan.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Guns for gold: the Wagner Network exposed (HC 167), paragraph 25, 26 July 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 30 October 2023 (deadline 26 September 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government responds to the Committee's recommendations by agreeing with some, partially agreeing with others and disagreeing with one, and says it has already proscribed Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation.
- On proscription, it "agrees" with the Committee's recommendation and says the order added Wagner Group to the list of proscribed organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000, in force from 15 September.
- It disagrees with a specific mechanism for coordinating Wagner sanctions with the US and EU, stating that existing mechanisms already enable close coordination, though it "will, however, keep the option of a specific mechanism for Wagner under review".
- On sanctions it partially agrees, saying its ability to sanction "depends on being able to build individual cases in line with the statutory requirements" and that it "will consider" the Committee's appendices in detail when considering further action.
- On aid, it partially agrees: it is committed to 0.7% of Gross National Income on ODA "once the fiscal situation allows", but says it currently has "no plans to reintroduce the FCAS spending commitment".