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Thread: Regulating PMC (catch all)

  1. #21
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    Default Hey JMM

    You really have some good stuff there. Why don't you write it up as a blog piece or a SWJ article. Personally, I'd be interested in your recommendations.

    Cheers

    JohnT

  2. #22
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    Default Thanks for the kind words....

    but, out-of-CONUS military contracts are well outside of my areas of "expertise".

    Out of curiousity, John,

    Personally, I'd be interested in your recommendations
    recommendations as to what areas, questions, etc. ? Provide me an outline of your concerns.

    PS: Ken - the mind of the parachuting lapin is never boggled - it merely says that as it calculates its next move.

  3. #23
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    Default Who really has expertise

    in this area? I think we all agree that there is a problem with the accountability for contractors with regard to their behavior when they act outside the law (or are accused of so doing). Placing contractors who work for or in support of military ops under the UCMJ was IMO an important step. My concerns have to do with what's next. My recommendation - which you articulately questioned - was to designate a commander for all USG activities during a contingency which would bring contractors who work for State, like Blackwater, under the UCMJ roof. But, as you pointed out, there are still questions. Anyway, how might you solve the problem of accountability for "other people's" contractors?

    Part of what I was suggesting you do (since I don't really want to do the legal research or read the lawyerly verbosity in many of your cites) was to digest for us the essence of what you found and then draw a few conclusions and recommendations as above.

    Cheers

    JohnT

  4. #24
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by John T. Fishel View Post
    Anyway, how might you solve the problem of accountability for "other people's" contractors?

    Cheers

    JohnT
    Hi John, I can tell you from personal experience inside the US (Alabama) as far as civil liablity the courts do not make any distinction between contractor and the person (Agency) who contracted them. They are considered to be part of the contracting angency. That is part of the Law of agency(jmm can better comment on that than me) which I never understood how groups like Blackwater could get around.

  5. #25
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    Default That may be the eintire problem.

    The principal (State in the Blackwater case) is exempt from violations of Iraqi law as are all US contractors under the CPA passed rules still in force. In UN ops, for example, peacekeepers have extraterritoriality as well.

  6. #26
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    Default Local policy enforcement of contractors

    Do civilian contractors that are supporting a DoD contract but do not have CAC cards have to comply with local military directives concerning off time activities? An example:

    Commander X issued a new rule that military and civilian personnel on Camp A cannot have any alcohol at all any establishment that serves alcohol is now off limits. However, 10 minutes away Camp B is not under the same rule yet under the jurisdiction of the same commander.

    P.S. just wondering did my 20 but am looking for the clarification.

    thanks!

  7. #27
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    Default Regulating PMC (catch all)

    Yesterday the Swiss Federal Departement of Foreign Affairs announced that nearly 60 firms have signed the International Code of Conduct for Providers of Private Security. The CoC is a follow-up document to the Montreux Document from 2008 which had been perceived positively by the international community.

    The ICoC "is based on the assumption that companies must respect human rights independently from the condition of national state law."

    "International law is only applicable to non-state actors in certain limited circumstances, whereas an International Code of Conduct overcomes these legal and theoretical ambiguities. If companies express their commitment to respect these standards, the International Code of Conduct can become the basic document to spell out rules for private security providers and offer practical advice on how to deal with them"

    The press release can be found here: http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/....html?id=36144

    The CoC can be found here: http://www.news.admin.ch/NSBSubscrib...ents/21143.pdf

    While the Montreux Document can be found here: http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib...Broschuere.pdf

    Neutral Greetings PB

  8. #28
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    Default

    Yes, my good buddy Eoin Stewart started Obelisk International LLC. His company was one of the first signatories of ICoC. His whole idea is honorable protective security for a number of venues, including humanitarian missions and the protection of socio-historical archeology and such. Warriors with a Conscience is the whole idea.... http://www.obelisk-international.com
    "Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war." Thucydides

    "Philosophising about war is useless under fire." Linda Berdoll

    http://phoenix.mod.bg

  9. #29
    Council Member 120mm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Polarbear View Post

    The ICoC "is based on the assumption that companies must respect human rights independently from the condition of national state law."
    Which "human rights?"

    So, if my concept of human rights include that the human right of self-defense and the absolute God given right to keep and bear arms, that means I can run guns, regardless of national or international law, right?

    The concept of "human rights" has been overused so much as to be worthless in application.

  10. #30
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    Default 554 companies signed CoC

    So far 554 Private Security Companies have signed the Code of Conduct, most from UK and US:

    http://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-f...ct-for-pr.html

    A list of 43 new signatories is also published:

    http://www.icoc-psp.org/uploads/Sign..._Companies.pdf

    as well as the complete list with all signatories:

    http://www.icoc-psp.org/uploads/Sign...RT_VERSION.pdf

  11. #31
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    Default Switzerland to ban "mercenary firms"

    Today Federal Councillor Simonetta Somaruga (Social Democrats) presented a draft law by which Switzerland hope to ban "mercenary acitivities" of security firms.
    The law forsees a notification requirement for firms which want to do business outside Switzerland and the EU. The authorities then have the possibility to allow or decline the activity. In case of violation the confederation can sanction the companies.
    The text of the law and the communiquee is only available in German, French and Italian. Therefore, I post the link of the translated news release (Google).

    You find the news release here: http://translate.google.de/translate...msg-id%3D47532

    The text of the bill: http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/dam...men/entw-d.pdf (German)

    The dispatch: http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/dam...rmen/bot-d.pdf (German)

  12. #32
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    Default Pontifical Swiss Guard

    So who is going guard the Pope now?
    “[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson

  13. #33
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    Default

    Some background: Aegis Defence Services, the UK PMC, has its holding company based in Switzerland. Since they have grown to be a large company with operations in a number of countries - I would imagine this has raised issues with the matter of Swiss neutrality.


    Some history: The Swiss banking industry developed as an outgrowth from the export of Swiss mercenaries during the 15th to 19th century.
    “[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by bourbon View Post
    So who is going guard the Pope now?
    The Swiss guard in Rome is affected by this law since the social benefits are paid by the Confederation. Nevertheless, they receive their pay from the Vatican.

    Some background: Aegis Defence Services, the UK PMC, has its holding company based in Switzerland. Since they have grown to be a large company with operations in a number of countries - I would imagine this has raised issues with the matter of Swiss neutrality.
    This is correct indeed! The move of Aegis provoked a lot of anti-"mercenary" reactions. Thoug a survey made in 2010 showd that at least about twenty contractor companies resided in Switzerland. Many of them working with NGOs and humanitarian organizations like the UN and the Red Cross.

    Therein lies also one of the contradictions IMO. The law forbids firms to recruit personnel and to promote activities that lead to direct involvement in hostilities in conflict zones. But how will they control that?

    Regards PB

  15. #35
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    Default PMC & Piracy: regulation

    An overview of regulating the PMC role in maritime security, which includes guarding against piracy and the precis says:
    States recently embraced a new policy regarding the fight against maritime piracy, and many began authorizing their cargo ships to carry private armed guards to help protect them when travelling through pirate-infested waters. Whilst this approach has yielded some success in protecting ships, it has also produced some major problems.
    Link:https://sustainablesecurity.org/2016...-armed-guards/
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 07-29-2016 at 01:15 PM. Reason: Thread re-opened for this post. 31,590v
    davidbfpo

  16. #36
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    Default

    For lack of a better thread,


    (NEW YORK) — A former U.S. Army sniper and two other ex-American soldiers agreed to become contract killers for an international crime boss who wanted to settle a score with a real estate agent in the Philippines he thought had cheated him on a land deal, a prosecutor said Tuesday in opening statements at the trial of the three men.

    Joseph Hunter, a onetime sergeant with a Special Forces background, Adam Samia and Carl David Stillwell have denied they planned the 2012 execution-style hit — a case that’s provided an inside glimpse into the secret fraternity of private mercenaries willing to kill in cold blood for cash.

    Prosecutors said the 52-year-old Hunter was working as a security chief for weapons and drug trafficker Paul Le Roux when he recruited Samia and Stillwell to travel from their homes in Roxboro, North Carolina, to the Philippines for what was called “ninja work.” Hunter provided firearms and silencers and told them Le Roux would pay them $35,000 a piece to get the job done, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Egan said in federal court in Manhattan.
    http://time.com/5227561/former-soldi...tional-hitmen/
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


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  17. #37
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    More on this curious NYC court case via the NYT:
    The chilling testimony was part of Mr. Le Roux’s cooperation with the government. In late 2012, he was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration after being lured to Liberia. Ever since, Mr. Le Roux, 45, has been assisting the authorities in rounding up the members of his sprawling organization in an effort to reduce a possible life sentence.
    Link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/05/n...320180409&te=1
    davidbfpo

  18. #38
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    Default Anyone else feel like we sidestepped into a William Gibson novel?

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/russia...ve-been-set-up

    On the ground, for the benefit of their Russian employers the mercenaries can then “raid, seize, and exploit” natural resources, as Avramov and Trad put it.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-23-2018 at 08:47 AM. Reason: Copied to CAR thread. 72,233v
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

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