 |
The use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) has widely increased over the last two decades. PMSCs operate in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Gulf of Aden as well as Latin America, and Western governments are also increasingly hiring private contractors for domestic purposes.
The United Nations has dramatically increased its use of PMSCs in recent years, hiring them for a wide array of “security services” and giving them considerable influence over its security policies as a 2012 GPF report revealed.
The PMSC industry represents a challenge to state sovereignty, as governments are supposed to be the sole providers of security. PMSC personnel have been involved in a number of scandals that highlight the risks and the potential for misconduct in the industry. However there is no mechanism able to hold PMSCs accountable under national and international law.
While there are a number of national and international laws that regulate the use of private armiesm existing legislation was not created with modern private security contractors in mind. Binding overshight bodies and mechanisms will be the only way to regulate the increasing propagation of PMSCs around the world.
