Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2016  [on the report of the Third Committee (A/71/483)]  71/182. Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights  and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples  to self-determination        The General Assembly,    Recalling all of its previous resolutions on the subject, including resolution 70/142 of  17 December 2015, and Human Rights Council resolutions 15/12 of 30 September 2010,1  15/26 of 1 October 2010,2 18/4 of 29 September 2011,3 21/8 of 27 September 2012,4 24/13  of 26 September 2013,5 27/10 of 25 September 2014,6 30/6 of 1 October 20157 and 33/4 of  29 September 2016,8 as well as all resolutions adopted by the Commission on Human  Rights in this regard,    Recalling also all of its relevant resolutions, in which, inter alia, it condemned any  State that permitted or tolerated the recruitment, financing, training, assembly, transit or  use of mercenaries with the objective of overthrowing the Governments of States Members  of the United Nations, especially those of developing countries, or of fighting against  national liberation movements, and recalling further the relevant resolutions and  international instruments adopted by the General Assembly, the Security Council, the  Economic and Social Council and the Organization of African Unity, inter alia, the  Organization of African Unity Convention for the elimination of mercenarism in Africa,9  as well as by the African Union,    Reaffirming the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United  Nations concerning the strict observance of the principles of sovereign equality, political  independence, the territorial integrity of States, the self-determination of peoples, the non- _______________  1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/65/53/Add.1),  chap. II.  2 Ibid., chap. I.  3 Ibid., Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/66/53/Add.1 and Corr.1), chap. II.  4 Ibid., Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III.  5 Ibid., Sixty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/68/53/Add.1), chap. III.  6  Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1 and Corr.1 and 2),  chap. IV, sect. A.  7 Ibid., Seventieth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/70/53/Add.1), chap. III.  8 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/71/53/Add.1 and Corr.1), chap. II.  9 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1490, No. 25573.   A/RES/71/182  Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination   2/4  use of force or of the threat of use of force in international relations and non-interference in  affairs within the domestic jurisdiction of States,    Reaffirming also that, by virtue of the principle of self-determination, all peoples  have the right freely to determine their political status and to pursue their economic, social  and cultural development and that every State has the duty to respect this right in  accordance with the provisions of the Charter,    Reaffirming further the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning  Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the  United Nations,10     Acknowledging with appreciation the work and contributions of the open-ended  intergovernmental working group established by the Human Rights Council with the  mandate of considering the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory  framework, including the option of elaborating a legally binding instrument on the  regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security  companies,    Alarmed and concerned at the danger that the activities of mercenaries constitute to  peace and security in developing countries in various parts of the world, in particular in  areas of conflict,    Deeply concerned at the loss of life, the substantial damage to property and the  negative effects on the policies and economies of affected countries resulting from  international criminal mercenary activities,    Extremely alarmed and concerned about recent mercenary activities in some  developing countries in various parts of the world, including in areas of armed conflict,  and the threat they pose to the integrity of and respect for the constitutional order of the  affected countries,    Convinced that, notwithstanding the way in which mercenaries or mercenary-related  activities are used or the form that they take to acquire some semblance of legitimacy, they  are a threat to peace, security and the self-determination of peoples and an obstacle to the  enjoyment of all human rights by peoples,    1.  Takes note with appreciation of the latest report of the Working Group of the  Human Rights Council on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and  impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination;11     2.  Reaffirms that the use of mercenaries and their recruitment, financing,  protection and training are causes for grave concern to all States and that they violate the  purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;    3.  Recognizes that armed conflict, terrorism, arms trafficking and covert  operations by third Powers encourage, inter alia, the demand for mercenaries on the global  market;    4.  Urges, once again, all States to take the steps necessary and to exercise the  utmost vigilance against the menace posed by the activities of mercenaries and to take  legislative measures to ensure that their territories and other territories under their control  are not used for, and that their nationals do not take part in, the recruitment, assembly,  financing, training, protection or transit of mercenaries for the planning of activities  designed to impede the right of peoples to self-determination, to destabilize or overthrow  the Government of any State or to dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial  _______________  10 Resolution 2625 (XXV), annex.  11 A/71/318.   Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding  the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination  A/RES/71/182   3/4  integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in  accordance with the right of peoples to self-determination;    5.  Requests all States to exercise the utmost vigilance against any kind of  recruitment, training, hiring or financing of mercenaries by private companies offering  international military consultancy and security services, and to impose a specific ban on  such companies intervening in armed conflicts or actions to destabilize constitutional  regimes;    6.  Encourages States that import military assistance or consultancy and security  services provided by private companies to establish national regulatory mechanisms for  registering and licensing those companies in order to ensure that the imported services  provided by those private companies neither impede the enjoyment of human rights nor  violate human rights in the recipient country;    7.  Emphasizes its utmost concern about the impact of the activities of private  military and security companies on the enjoyment of human rights, in particular when  operating in armed conflicts, and notes that private military and security companies and  their personnel are rarely held accountable for violations of human rights;    8.  Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to consider taking the action  necessary to accede to or ratify the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use,  Financing and Training of Mercenaries;12     9.  Welcomes the cooperation extended by those countries that received a visit by  the Working Group on the use of mercenaries and the adoption by some States of national  legislation that restricts the recruitment, assembly, financing, training and transit of  mercenaries;    10.  Condemns recent mercenary activities in developing countries in various parts  of the world, in particular in areas of conflict, and the threat they pose to the integrity of  and respect for the constitutional order of those countries and the exercise of the right of  their peoples to self-determination, and stresses the importance for the Working Group on  the use of mercenaries of looking into sources and root causes, as well as the political  motivations of mercenaries and for mercenary-related activities;    11.  Calls upon States to investigate the possibility of mercenary involvement  whenever and wherever criminal acts of a terrorist nature occur and to bring to trial those  found responsible or to consider their extradition, if so requested, in accordance with  national law and applicable bilateral or international treaties;    12.  Condemns any form of impunity granted to perpetrators of mercenary activities  and to those responsible for the use, recruitment, financing and training of mercenaries,  and urges all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to bring  them, without distinction, to justice;    13.  Calls upon Member States, in accordance with their obligations under  international law, to cooperate with and assist the judicial prosecution of those accused of  mercenary activities in transparent, open and fair trials;    14.  Recalls the holding of the fourth session of the open-ended intergovernmental  working group to consider the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory  framework on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military  and security companies, expresses satisfaction at the participation of experts, including the  members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, as resource persons at the  above-mentioned session, and requests the Working Group and other experts to continue  _______________  12 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2163, No. 37789.   A/RES/71/182  Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination   4/4  their participation during the fifth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working  group;    15.  Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to continue the work  already done by the Special Rapporteurs on the use of mercenaries of the Commission on  Human Rights with respect to the strengthening of the international legal framework for  the prevention and sanction of the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries,  taking into account the proposal for a new legal definition of a mercenary drafted by the  Special Rapporteur in his report to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth  session;13     16.  Also requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to continue to  study and identify sources and causes, emerging issues, manifestations and trends  regarding mercenaries or mercenary-related activities and their impact on human rights,  particularly on the right of peoples to self-determination;    17.  Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human  Rights, as a matter of priority, to publicize the adverse effects of the activities of  mercenaries on the right of peoples to self-determination and, when requested and where  necessary, to render advisory services to States that are affected by those activities;    18.  Recommends that all Member States, including those confronted with the  phenomenon of private military and security companies, as contracting States, States of  operations, home States or States whose nationals are employed to work for a private  military and security company, contribute to the work of the open-ended  intergovernmental working group, taking into account the initial work done by the  Working Group on the use of mercenaries;    19.  Urges all States to cooperate fully with the Working Group on the use of  mercenaries in the fulfilment of its mandate;    20.  Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for  Human Rights to continue to provide the Working Group on the use of mercenaries with  all the assistance and support necessary for the fulfilment of its mandate, both professional  and financial, including through the promotion of cooperation between the Working Group  and other components of the United Nations system that deal with countering mercenary- related activities, in order to meet the demands of its current and future activities;    21.  Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to consult States and  intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations on the implementation of the  present resolution and to report, with specific recommendations, to the General Assembly  at its seventy-second session its findings on the use of mercenaries to undermine the  enjoyment of all human rights and to impede the exercise of the right of peoples to self- determination;    22.  Decides to consider the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of  violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self- determination at its seventy-second session under the item entitled “Right of peoples to  self-determination”.    65th plenary meeting  19 December 2016    _______________  13 See E/CN.4/2004/15, para. 47.