Mercenaries Often A presence In Terror Attacks

MERCENARIES OFTEN A PRESENCE IN TERRORIST ATTACKS,

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TELLS THIRD COMMITTEE AS IT BEGINS DISCUSSIONS ON SELF-DETERMINATION

Fifty-sixth General Assembly
Third Committee
26th Meeting (AM)
Courtesy Of The: UN

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When terrorist attacks were investigated, it was imperative to research whether mercenaries were also involved, the Special Rapporteur on mercenaries told the Third Committee this morning as the panel opened its debate on self-determination.

The Special Rapporteur on 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, Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, told Committee members that mercenaries were often a presence in terrorist attacks.

They were also used frequently in battles over self-determination.

Mercenaries would also likely be involved in other criminal activities, he said, including actions that could finance attacks.

Those people were trained to destroy, and they were void of human sentiment.

If the international community wanted to be successful in fighting terrorism, it would have to look into the actions of mercenaries.

One instrument that could be helpful in combating their use, Mr. Ballesteros said during an interactive discussion later in the meeting, was the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.

The Convention had been approved by the General Assembly in 1989, but did not come into force until 20 October because not enough countries had acceded to it.

Statement By Special Rapporteur On Mercenaries:

ENRIQUE BERNALES BALLESTEROS, Special Rapporteur on 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, said the mandate of the Special Rapporteur also included, among other things, armed conflict, terrorism, covert operations and trafficking in arms.

All States were asked to investigate the use of mercenaries in all criminal activities in their countries.

He said a visit to El Salvador was still pending, as was a visit to Panama. Such a visit would allow opinions to be collected and facts to be gathered that could link the use of mercenaries and terrorism.

A study would also be carried out about the link of private security forms.

There would also be an investigation about the situation in Peru about activities carried out by the former President. In this case, as well as in the case of aggressions against Cuba and the situation in Colombia, the Special Rapporteur observed links between mercenaries and terrorism, particularly through the illegal trafficking of drugs.

There was a meeting about private security firms which offered people opportunities to take part in military action.

One of the conclusions of that meeting was that there needed to be a further analysis of the legal definition of mercenary...

He said, as in all the reports, there had been a focus on the use of mercenaries in Africa. There was no internal conflict or other problem where mercenaries were not involved.

Mercenaries were seen in Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, among other places. In the western parts of the countries, which were rich with precious stones and oils, outside interests, including Mafias, had hired mercenaries to enable them to get rich from those resources. The General Assembly and the Security Council had both passed resolutions against that, and those resolutions needed to be respected to protect the people of the region.

The terrorist attacks of 11 September had proved that there was a need for a more effective strategy to tackle terrorism.

The presence of mercenaries usually occurred in connection with other criminal activities, and it would be a mistake to discount the use of mercenaries in terrorist attacks. Many attacks resulted from a defamation of religious, cultural or political conflicts.

Those people were trained to destroy, and they were devoid of human sentiment.

Mercenaries were behind many terrorist attacks, and they were often used to assassinate political leaders.

When investigating a terrorist attack, there should always be an investigation into whether mercenaries were involved.

If the international community wanted to be successful in fighting terrorism, that should be seriously considered.