Statement by Mr. Chris Kwaja
Chairperson-Rapporteur
WORKING GROUP ON THE USE OF MERCENARIES AS A MEANS OF VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS AND IMPEDING THE EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION

74th session of the General Assembly
Third Committee
Item 73
30 October 2019
New York

Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
I am honoured to address the Third Committee of the General Assembly as the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the right of peoples to self-determination. I am pleased to present to you today our report on the gendered human rights impacts of private military and security companies.

The report examines these impacts from different perspectives. Firstly, a theoretical one in terms of the trend away from States’ monopoly on the use of force and towards the privatisation of security; secondly, the perspective of the local communities affected by the operations of these companies; and thirdly, the situation inside the companies and the experiences of their employees. It is on these latter two that I will focus today, as well as on relevant legal and regulatory frameworks.

Private military and security companies have a significant gender footprint in the communities in which they operate. The wide variety of contexts in which these companies operate and the types of service they provide entail different levels of gendered risk to the enjoyment of human rights. These risks are particularly high in situations of armed conflict, post-conflict and transitional situations and in countries in which there are no standards or oversight governing their activities.

The nature of the services that these companies provide also has an impact on the levels of gendered human rights risks. Services that involve the actual or potential use of force carry high risks. There are also risks in situations where there are power imbalances, such as when private security personnel are supervising a prison or checkpoint, or acting as a gatekeeper for access to health care or food in a migrant detention centre. Generally, situations where private military and security personnel have regular contact with members of the public carry certain risks.

A large, militarized and predominantly male private military and security presence, whether contracted by States or non-State actors, can generate feelings of unease, which men, women, boys and girls may experience differently. For example, women have reported that their ability to move around freely, and thereby access workplaces, markets and health-care facilities, was restricted as they sought to avoid a road guarded by private military and security personnel. Women also reported repeated sexual harassment, such as being shown pornography, being subjected to sexual remarks or inappropriate touching, or living in fear that they might be subjected to sexual violence. This was alleged as happening at informal or formal checkpoints and in refugee and migrant detention centres.

Women and girls form the majority of victims of sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination by private military and security company personnel, the perpetrators being predominantly men. Women with lower socioeconomic status, women from indigenous communities, and women human rights defenders face particular risks.

The Working Group also examined past major abuses of gender-based discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence. We are concerned that there has been limited accountability and remedies for victims of these abuses. We also believe that underreporting of such allegations is probable given the general underreporting of sexual and gender-based violence regardless of the perpetrator, compounded by little to no systematic monitoring of the actions of private military and security companies by States, civil society, United Nations bodies or other actors.

Mr. President,
The Working Group also looked at the situation inside private military and security companies, and found that much needs to be done to address gender inequality and gender-based discrimination in this male dominated industry. Increases in numbers of women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming (LGBTI) persons and other underrepresented groups are needed. In order to work progressively towards organizational cultural change, greater diversity in the composition of the personnel must be accompanied by principled, firm and swift actions to address sexual and gender-based violence, structural inequalities and underlying discrimination. The companies need to put in place policies and procedures to address these issues and to systematically integrate approaches that promote substantive equality and gender-mainstreaming throughout their operations.

Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
Issues of gender-based discrimination and sexual- and gender-based violence by private military and security companies and their personnel are more often than not taking place in the absence of human rights-compliant legal and regulatory frameworks to govern their activities. State action is needed in areas of legal reform, regulatory and oversight bodies, and accountability and remedy mechanisms. In all these areas, being gender-neutral is not an option, and rather all measures should be informed by a gender analysis and seek to take a gender-transformative approach.

Mr President,
Distinguished delegates,
Our findings paint a bleak picture, but they also confirm that there is an urgent need to deepen research and action on this topic in order to further unpack gendered risks and impacts and bring to light the experiences of those affected, particularly private military and security personnel and members of the communities in places where these companies operate. Gender-disaggregated data-gathering as well as gender-sensitive monitoring of alleged abuses are therefore critical next steps.

For the necessary changes to be set in motion, all relevant actors needs to play their part. States, private military and security companies, and State and non-State clients all have a role in pushing forward a gender-transformative agenda within the industry. Multi-stakeholder initiatives and other stakeholders can play an important role in supporting this process.

Allow me to conclude by recalling Sustainable Development Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. The findings and recommendations of the report of the Working Group go to the heart of the targets of this goal, especially those to ‘end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere’ and to ‘eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls’. The Working Group believes that implementation of our recommendations would considerably contribute towards addressing gender inequalities, gender-based discrimination and sexual- and gender-based violence in the private military and security industry, and thereby also contribute to the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 5.

With this in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of those recommendations. In the first place, States have the ultimate responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, and to protect against abuses by third parties. A critical missing element in fulfilling these responsibilities in most contexts are legal and regulatory frameworks governing private military and security companies that contain strong human rights safeguards based on differentiated gender perspectives relevant to the specific national context. In addition, States should use licensing or authorization and other tools to enforce human rights standards. From a gender perspective, this should include the mandatory collection of gender-disaggregated data and adoption of relevant internal policies.

Moreover, States should ensure that personnel of private military and security companies who have committed acts of sexual and gender-based violence are investigated and brought to justice, including in relation to crimes committed in previous years whether at home or abroad, and that effective remedies are accessible to women, girls, men, boys and LGBTI victims of human rights abuses by private military and security companies.

For their part, private military and security companies must dedicate adequate time and resources to facilitate the development and implementation of gender-transformative approaches in their operations. Here again, data-gathering is key, as is increasing the numbers of underrepresented groups within their companies. Also essential is the development of new policies and procedures to express commitment to human rights, non-discrimination and gender equality; and, for example, on vetting and training.

In particular, private military and security companies should assume that sexual harassment and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence take place, even in the absence of reporting on allegations. On this basis, they should enact appropriate policies, procedures and mechanisms that fulfil the duty of care towards their staff, prevent abuses by their staff of members of the community and protect the latter from such abuses. This means ensuring that reporting systems are robust and that there are suitable mechanisms to address alleged abuses.

Furthermore, private military and security companies should use existing tools to further gender integration. These tools include human rights risk and impact assessments based on meaningful consultations with a representative cross-section of affected populations. Such assessments should then provide the basis for these companies to adopt mitigating measures that appropriately address risks affecting all members of the community.

As for State and non-State clients, they should use their contracts and procurement processes as a means to introduce requirements for private military and security companies to have policies, procedures and mechanisms in place to address sexual and gender-based violence and gender-based discrimination, and promote gender equality.

Finally, multi-stakeholder initiatives, national human rights institutions and relevant non-governmental organizations could support reflection among private military and security companies on how to achieve structural, company-wide integration of gender equality and prevention of abuses.

Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
What is required now is not a ‘tick-the-box’ mentality, but rather gender-transformative approaches across private military and security operations that not only consider gender differences and adapt responses and strategies accordingly, but also seek to transform the power dynamics and structures that serve to reinforce gendered inequalities. This will only be realised if States, private military and security companies, and State and non-State clients of these companies fulfil their respective obligations and responsibilities to bring about the necessary transformation in the industry.

We sincerely hope that our report will stimulate gender-transformative thinking, debate and practice around the private military and security industry in order to address critical gender-related human rights issues.

I thank you again Mr. President and distinguished delegates for this rich exchange, and my fellow members and I look forward to continue interacting and cooperating with you in relation to our future thematic reports and other activities.

Thank you.

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Chris Kwaja presents Annual Report of Working Group on Mercenaries to the Third Committee of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York