United Nations Mercenary Convention Explained

The United Nations Mercenary Convention, officially the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, is a 2001 United Nations treaty that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of mercenaries. At the 72nd plenary meeting on 4 December 1989, the United Nations General Assembly concluded the convention as its resolution 44/34. The convention entered into force on 20 October 2001^[1] and has been ratified by 46 states.

The convention extends on the Geneva Conventions Protocol I which in Article 47(1) states that a mercenary cannot be a lawful combatant or prisoner of war.^[2]

Article 1 (Definition of mercenary)

Article 1 of the Convention has the following definition of a mercenary:

Signatories and parties

As of August 2021, the convention had been ratified by 37 states, and signed but not ratified by 9 states.

Below are the states that have signed, ratified or acceded to the convention.^{[3] [4]}

Country	Signing date	Ratification date	Notes
	data-sort-value="1990-02-02"	February 5, 1990	data-sort-value="1995-08-21"	August 21, 1995
		data-sort-value="1990-03-12"	March 12, 1990
	data-sort-value="1990-03-20"	March 20, 1990		Signed as Zaire; successor state is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
	data-sort-value="1990-04-04"	April 4, 1990
	data-sort-value="1990-07-17"	July 17, 1990	data-sort-value="1991-09-11"	September 11, 1991
	data-sort-value="1990-07-20"	July 20, 1990		Signed as the People's Republic of the Congo; successor state is the Republic of the Congo.
	data-sort-value="1990-09-21"	September 21, 1990	data-sort-value="1993-09-13"	September 13, 1993	Signed as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
	data-sort-value="1990-10-05"	October 5, 1990
	data-sort-value="1990-02-27"	February 27, 1990	data-sort-value="1990-08-10"	August 10, 1990
	data-sort-value="1990-11-20"	November 20, 1990	data-sort-value="1999-07-14"	July 14, 1999
	data-sort-value="1990-12-12"	December 12, 1990
	data-sort-value="1990-12-13"	December 13, 1990	data-sort-value="1992-07-10"	July 10, 1992
	data-sort-value="1990-12-13"	December 13, 1990	data-sort-value="1997-05-28"	May 28, 1997	Signed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
	data-sort-value="1990-12-17"	December 17, 1990
	data-sort-value="1990-12-21"	December 21, 1990	data-sort-value="1996-01-01"	January 1, 1996
	data-sort-value="1990-12-28"	December 28, 1990
		data-sort-value="1991-02-25"	February 25, 1991
	data-sort-value="1990-12-28"	December 28, 1990
		data-sort-value="1993-07-08"	July 8, 1993
		data-sort-value="1995-06-08"	June 8, 1995
		data-sort-value="1996-09-18"	September 18, 1996
		data-sort-value="1997-04-12"	April 12, 1997
		data-sort-value="1997-04-14"	April 14, 1997	With reservations.
		data-sort-value="1998-01-19"	January 19, 1998
		data-sort-value="1998-02-09"	February 9, 1998
		data-sort-value="1999-03-26"	March 26, 1999
		data-sort-value="1999-07-09"	July 9, 1999
		data-sort-value="2000-03-27"	March 27, 2000
		data-sort-value="2000-09-22"	September 22, 2000	Signed as the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
	data-sort-value="2001-03-12"	March 12, 2001	data-sort-value="2016-01-14"	January 14, 2016	Signed as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
		data-sort-value="2001-09-20"	September 20, 2001
		data-sort-value="2002-04-12"	April 12, 2002
		data-sort-value="2002-05-05"	May 5, 2002	With reservations.
		data-sort-value="2003-06-18"	June 18, 2003
		data-sort-value="2004-09-22"	September 22, 2004
		data-sort-value="2005-09-16"	September 16, 2005
		data-sort-value="2006-02-28"	February 28, 2006	With reservations.
	data-sort-value="2006-10-23"	October 23, 2006
		data-sort-value="2007-03-23"	March 23, 2007
		data-sort-value="2007-09-02"	September 2, 2007
		data-sort-value="2008-01-19"	January 19, 2008	With reservations.
		data-sort-value="2013-11-12"	November 12, 2013
		data-sort-value="2016-12-12"	December 12, 2016
		data-sort-value="2019-01-21"	January 21, 2019
		data-sort-value="1990-04-01"	April 1, 2008
		data-sort-value="2020-11-23"	November 23, 2020	With reservations.

Several of the states that ratified the agreement are however signatories of the Montreux document which on the contrary of the afore-written convention, does not make illegal the use of mercenaries but gives a document about the use of mercenaries including "good practises", the agreement having no sanctions or legal constraints tied to it.

See also

• Montreux Document – a non-constraining agreement between countries about Mercenary use with a side legal volley about non-military private security.
• Private military company
  • Mercenary Unlawful combatant § Mercenaries

External links

• Text of the convention, list of signatories
• Procedural history and related documents on the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries in the Historic Archives of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

Notes and References

1. https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries
2. Web site: Law of War Manual . 168–170 . U.S. Department of Defense . December 2016 . 10 June 2022.
3. Web site: International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, 4 December 1989 - State Parties . International Committee of the Red Cross . 4 July 2022.
4. Web site: International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, 4 December 1989 - Signatory States . International Committee of the Red Cross . 4 July 2022.