Recommendation 37

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted in Part

Partially agree. 40. In 2002, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights panel of experts recommended amending the UN Convention on Mercenaries to clarify its definition of mercenaries. The UK supports the need for clarification. However, no better definition has since been agreed. We will engage with the International Code of Conduct Association to advance the debate around definitions of mercenaries, malign actors, private military companies and private security companies. 41. The UN Convention on Mercenaries in its current form is unlikely to provide a workable basis for regulation under UK law. The UK will, nevertheless, continue to monitor progress of the Convention seeking suitable opportunities to engage in future. 42. The UK participated actively in discussions with other states at the 4th session of the UN Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on PMSCs (April 2023), which focused on a draft international regulatory framework regarding the activities of PMSCs. In the negotiations at the 4th session, the UK proposed new language to the draft framework, with the aim of moving the negotiations forward. We are working towards the renewal of the mandate of the IGWG at the 54th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in September. The UK is committed to seeking a framework that supports a well-regulated PMSC industry. We also support the involvement of technical experts to help create such a framework. 43. The UK will continue to engage actively in discussions at the HRC on the UN draft framework on PMSCs. We will seek to create an instrument that explains what constitutes a ‘responsible’, law-abiding PMSC, and differentiate this from the activities of irresponsible, malign actors whose activities undermine the proper functioning of the sector. ii. how the UK will work to improve the accountability of Wagner fighters in more countries. The Government may be able to address the second point (ii), by drawing lessons from work to bolster accountability of Wagner fighters in Ukraine. The UK Government should use its significant support to the Office of the Prosecutor General in Ukraine to identify mechanisms to prosecute the Wagner Network. A prosecution in this theatre would serve to help deter the sense of impunity abroad. Agree. 44. We agree on the importance of holding Wagner to account for its actions. In some areas, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an existing authority to investigate situations where Wagner is present (including Mali and Central African Republic) and Wagner’s activities are within scope of that investigation. This also applies to Wagner fighters in Ukraine. The ICC deals with individual criminal responsibility. The Government is a firm supporter of the ICC, providing additional voluntary contributions to its Trust Funds above our annual budget contribution. 45. The UK’s efforts to strengthen the accountability of Wagner fighters in Ukraine also include setting up the Atrocity Crimes Advisory (ACA) Group, through which the UK co- ordinates its support to the Ukrainian domestic legal system. The UK has so far provided £2.5 million to support domestic investigations in Ukraine, including work through the ACA Group, which covers areas such as funding mobile evidence-gathering teams and providing training in international humanitarian law to the Ukrainian judiciary and national police. We will continue to support work to prosecute individuals for atrocity crimes in Ukraine, including Wagner fighters. 46. The UK has consistently called out the Wagner group’s actions in statements in the UN Security Council, such as regarding Libya in 2020, CAR in 2021 and Mali in 2022. We have made statements at the Human Rights Council (HRC) calling for perpetrators of abuses to be held to account, such as at UN HRC52 on Mali and at UN HRC53 on CAR. We will continue to work with our international partners to look for opportunities at multilateral forums to call out human rights violations and abuses and call for perpetrators to be held to account. iii. how the UK will promote greater accountability and responsibility of states where PMCs are headquartered, if PMCs engage in destabilising activities. 47. We agree that it is important to promote the accountability and responsibility of states where PMSCs are headquartered. The UK fully supports the Montreux Document, which refers to such states’ obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The UK encourages all states to state their support for the Document and will continue to promote the Document as a means of raising industry standards and helping states and PMSCs to meet their obligations and conduct practices in line with human rights. Russia is not a signatory to the Montreux Document, but China has signed up. Russia is unlikely to adhere to any agreed UN regulatory framework on PMSCs. Even so, this is an important initiative for the UK to pursue. In broadening the international consensus on