Committee : United Nations Human Rights Council

Topic : Private Military Corporations in Conflicts and

Wars
Country : Spain

“The duty of a man is to be there, where it is most useful!”

—José Martí, 1853 – 1895
In war zones, the use of private military companies has widely increased over the
decades because PMCs provide a number of advantages over military personnel or civil
servants—speed of deployment, continuity, reduction of troop requirements, reduction of
military casualties, and, in some cases, executing tasks the military and civilian workforce
simply cannot1. PMC services can be contracted for different missions, and the result of this,
however, is that they follow very different rules of engagement (when these exist) yet the
government still holds responsible for everything that the contractors do or fail to do.
The liberty of their acts can be a direct threat to civilians because the expansion in the
use of private contractors to perform a wide range of functions—from providing personal and
convoy protection in war zones to participating in the detention and interrogation of prisoners
in conflicts—meant that contractors were more and more in contact with civilian populations
and in situations where very serious human rights abuses could and did occur. The fact that
human rights abuses still happening in war zones and carried out by PMC personnel
emphasizes the imminent threat that is faced by the global community: the impotency of states
to ensure the access to human rights for civilians—especially for those living in the midst of
conflict. Despite the regulations made in The Montreux Document2, PMCs have not been fully
applying the standards of operation.
The use of PMC in Spain has been mainly domestic, with contractors providing
logistical and security services to the Spanish military, as well as providing surveillance and
protection for private persons and goods3. In recent years, several reports indicate that PMCs
registered or with headquarters in Spain have also provided military and security services
abroad4. However, despite the ever-continuing use of PMC in the nation, Spain, seeing the
current condition, realizes the urge for a better regulation and a strong justice system in order
to maintain peace and prevent chaos within the society, provide access to justice for the victims

1
X. Hammes, T. (2018). Private Contractors in Conflict Zones: The Good, the Bad, and the Strategic Impact. 13.
2
The Montreux Document (2008) reiterates the international law standards applicable to states using
contractors in armed conflict. It contains a valuable list of ‘‘good practices’’ for states to follow with regard to
contractors
3
Espe Abuin, “La única empresa de mercenarios en España se ofrece para proteger barcos,” Grup Antimilitarista
Tortuga. http://www.grupotortuga.com/La-unica-empresa-de-mercenarios-en (Accessed on March 30, 2018).
4
“Spain - Defense Industry,” GlobalSecurity.org https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/es-
industry.htm (accessed on April 3, 2018)
in areas of conflict. This particular system depends on the quality of the actors who are involved
within, such as private contractors and the personnel.
Furthermore, Spain believes that in solving this issue at hand, it can be done by taking
several necessary acts, such as:
1. Member states should ensure that all regulations regarding to PMC practices are fully
enforced. This could be done through proper training of army personnel according to
the standards established by the International Humanitarian Law, constant and ongoing
monitoring system, and giving sanctions to those who carry misconduct.
2. Member states should supervise all actions taken by private contractors. This means
that states must have officials on-site. They may not hand over these facilities totally to
private organizations without adequate monitoring systems that enable the official or
commissioned officer to supervise the staff in control of detainees, to give binding
instructions, and to enforce them effectively
3. All practices and operations carried out by PMCs in terms of offensive executions shall
be put under the authority of a responsible officer who must be chosen from the regular
military forces or civil administration. Otherwise member states shall limit the
operations of PMC to defense-only operations and/or logistical and security services
only.
• PMCs shall report to the states immediately regarding to each operation they have
conducted.
4. Have PMC personnel carry distinguishable characteristics in appearance (such as
uniforms, ID, etc.) whenever they conduct operations in an instructed area in order to
differentiate them from mercenaries.
5. Should there be any misconduct against International Humanitarian Law done by PMC,
the states shall take responsibility to submit the case to the states’ national court, and
International Criminal Court shall be able to mediate in handling the case.
Spain believes that the essence of all regulations from the UN and International
Humanitarian Law, is substantial but lack of implementation. The implementation and further
specification of requirements imposed by international law are generally best achievable within
the national administrative, civil, and criminal legal systems. It is this implementation that has
to be pursued more consistently because there is no lack of rules but rather a failure of the
member states to enforce international law. Spain therefore believes that the issue of violations
of human rights done by Private Military Contractors is an urgent issue that needs to be
addressed immediately.