Private military and security companies (PMSCs) have been used in every peace operation since 1990, and reliance on them is increasing at a time when peace operations themselves are becoming ever more complex. This book provides an essential foundation for the emerging debate on the use of PMSCs in this context. It clarifies key issues such as whether their use complies with the principles of peacekeeping, outlines the implications of the status of private contractors as non-combatants under international humanitarian law, and identifies potential problems in holding states and international organizations responsible for their unlawful acts. Written as a clarion call for greater transparency, this book aims to inform the discussion to ensure that international lawyers and policy makers ask the right questions and take the necessary steps so that states and international organizations respect the law when endeavouring to keep peace in an increasingly privatized world.
Introduction; Part I. UN Use of PMSCs: The Current Situation: 1. Contracting by the UN: policy and practice; 2. Survey of existing opinion and practice on the possibility of PMSCs as the military component of a UN peace operation; Part II. The Legal Framework of UN Peace Operations and the Use of PMSCs: Introduction; 3. The legal basis for peacekeeping/peace operations; 4. Principles of peacekeeping; 5. PMSCs as the military or police component of the peace operation; 6. The law applicable to peace operations; Part III. PMSCs and Direct Participation in Hostilities: Introduction; 7. The status of PMSC personnel under IHL; 8. The impact of civilian status on the rights and duties of PMSCs: Direct Participation in Hostilities; 9. The use of force by PMSC personnel in self-defence; 10. The use of force in self-defence in peace operations; 11. Human rights law; Part IV. Responsibility: Introduction; 12. Attribution of the actions PMSCs active in peace operations to states; 13. Responsibility of international organizations; 14. Implementation of responsibility; 15. Criminal responsibility; Conclusion.
