Resolution adopted by the General Assembly  on 19 December 2023          [on the report of the Third Committee (A/78/479, para. 34)]       78/191. 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  77/206 of 15 December 2022, and Human Rights Council resolutions on the subject,  including resolution 54/3 of 11 October 2023,1 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,2 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-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  __________________    1  See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-eighth Session, Supplement No. 53A  (A/78/53/Add.1), chap. III, sect. A.    2  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1490, No. 25573.   A/RES/78/191  Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and  impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination   23-26051 2/4    economic, social and cultural development and that every State has the duty to respect  this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter,    Deeply concerned at the continuation of acts or threats of foreign military  intervention and occupation that are threatening to suppress, or have already  suppressed, the right to self-determination of peoples and nations,    Reaffirming the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning  Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of  the United Nations,3    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 armed conflict, and about the threat they pose to the integrity  of and respect for the constitutional order of the affected countries,    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,    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;4    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 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  __________________    3  Resolution 2625 (XXV), annex.    4  A/78/535.   Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and  impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination  A/RES/78/191   3/4 23-26051    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 acceding to or  ratifying the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and  Training of Mercenaries;5    9.  Welcomes the cooperation extended by those countries that have received  a visit by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries since the establishment of its  mandate 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. Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries and other experts  to continue their participation, including by submitting contributions, in other  subsidiary bodies of the Human Rights Council considering issues related to the use  of mercenaries and mercenary-related activities in all their forms and manifestations,  including private military and security companies;    15. Requests the Working Group on the use of mercenaries to continue its work  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 on the use of mercenaries as a means of  impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination in his report  __________________    5  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2163, No. 37789.   A/RES/78/191  Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and  impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination   23-26051 4/4    submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth session 6  and the  evolving phenomenon of mercenaries and its related forms;    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 private military and  security companies 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-ninth 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-ninth session under the item entitled “Right of peoples to  self-determination”.    50th plenary meeting  19 December 2023    __________________    6  See E/CN.4/2004/15, para. 47.