UN head calls for end to use of mercenaries

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that reports suggest there has been ‘‘a surge in the use of mercenaries,’’ who are not only fighting in wars and illegally exploiting natural resources but are now ‘‘feeding off’’ transnational organised crime, terrorism and violent extremism.

The UN chief called for much broader support for regional and international conventions against the use of mercenaries and said those compacts need to be updated. He also called for prosecuting mercenaries and for strengthening efforts at preventing people, especially the young, from being recruited as mercenaries.

Guterres told the Security Council that while ‘‘the shadowy nature’’ of mercenaries makes data hard to come by, their impact is clear in the worsening of conflicts, weakened stability of countries, the undermining of the rule of law and the large numbers of people forced to flee their homes. He said mercenary activities have ‘‘evolved over the years,’’ pointing to ‘‘illicit activities and trafficking by terrorist and mercenary groups’’ operating in Africa’s vast Sahel region and the alleged involvement of mercenaries in postelection violence in Ivory Coast in 2010.

Mercenaries and other foreign fighters have also committed ‘‘innumerable violations’’ of human rights and international humanitarian law against civilians in the Central African Republic, and mercenaries have suppressed herders trying to move along traditional routes on the border with Cameroon, Guterres said.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera, whose country is the current chairman of the African Union, said mercenaries are not only involved in ‘‘active combat’’ but ‘‘we now see an increase in cyberattacks and industrial espionage carried out by mercenary groups in the comfort of their own homes.’’