VII. Conclusions

66. In accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/5, the Special Rapporteur has undertaken consultations with States, intergovernmental bodies and non‑governmental organizations with the aim of keeping information on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self‑determination up to date and of monitoring situations in which mercenaries are involved. These consultations and observations lead to the conclusion that the measures taken by the international community to combat mercenary activities have proven inadequate. Mercenary activities have not only continued but increased. There have even been recent studies and statements by government spokespersons that suggest the possible legalization of mercenary activities by allowing and formalizing their recruitment, hiring and use by private security and military consultancy companies.

67. The ceasefire agreement concluded in Angola on 5 April 2002 ends a cruel conflict in which UNITA made repeated use of mercenaries. In the territories under its control UNITA has mined and marketed diamonds without restraint despite the United Nations prohibition, and has conducted illegal trafficking in precious stones on European markets, in particular Antwerp, using mercenaries for this purpose. Today, as a result of the agreement, elections are scheduled,

as are the reinsertion and reintegration of 50,000 members of UNITA and implementation of an emergency plan for internally displaced persons. Also of note are the conclusion on 30 July 2002 in Pretoria of the Peace Agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, the ceasefires in the Sudan and the holding of presidential and legislative elections in Sierra Leone, which has suffered the presence of mercenaries during a long and cruel civil war.

68. Regrettably, elsewhere in Africa there has been no change regarding the presence of mercenaries. On the contrary there has been some regression, as in Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar and the Comoros. The armed conflicts in West Africa have resulted in a concentration of mercenaries willing to fight for the highest bidder, together with a heavy concentration of weaponry.

69. Groups and organizations engaging in terrorism, with their shifting operational links to mercenaries, remain active. These groups resort to the recruitment, hiring and use of mercenaries. States must make greater efforts to prevent and suppress the presence of such groups in their territories as well as the financial and logistical support networks, channels, circles and systems providing them with assistance. The fight against terrorism must, however, be conducted in full respect for human rights and with the participation of civil society in the formulation and implementation of policies and plans to prevent terrorism.

70. The visits by the Special Rapporteur to El Salvador and Panama have allowed the furthering of his investigation into alleged mercenary activities in which the territory of those and other countries in Central America was used to plan mercenary activities and some of whose nationals were employed to organize criminal activities. The main target of those activities was Cuba, with attacks on its hotels, tourist centres and public places intended to sow terror and cause serious economic harm to the country. The investigations in connection with the visits have not concluded, and the Special Rapporteur is awaiting the supplementary documentation requested. The Special Rapporteur can state that the testimony received from individuals detained in Panamanian jails is inadequate, contradicts the findings of the investigations conducted by the judicial authorities of Panama and would require further proof to be accepted as valid. At present it does not constitute a rebuttal of the events attributed to them. The investigations conducted in the two countries also appear inadequate. Meanwhile the four individuals held in Panamanian prisons have already spent more than two years in preventive detention.

71. The second meeting of experts on mercenaries has led to considerable progress in aspects relating to understanding, defining and classifying the phenomenon of mercenarism. This progress must contribute to increased international effectiveness in combating mercenary activities and mercenarism.

72. The Special Rapporteur has continued his research with a view to proposing to the Commission on Human Rights, at its sixtieth session, an updated proposal for a legal definition of a mercenary. He has considered some conceptual elements of the definition in chapter III of this report.

73. While the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries entered into force on 20 October 2001, to date only 24 States are parties to it. In view of the spread, expansion and range of mercenary activities, an increase in the number of States parties is necessary for efforts to prevent and eliminate such activities to become more effective.

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