current armed conflicts in latin america

The two main proposals for an oversight system include voluntary self-regulation versus a treaty that would bind States to regulate and control PMSC conduct. The global use of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) has grown steadily in recent years but a universally acknowledged regulatory system to monitor their compliance with international laws remains elusive. The paper calls for new measures that continue to build on IHL and the Geneva Conventions, but that go beyond the current regulatory positions of existing international initiatives. This “battle of influence” over the regulation of the use of force, Saner contends, leads to rising tensions between stakeholders who form coalitions consisting of states, PMSCs, and civil society actors on either side of the regulation cleavage. This self-imposed quasi-regulatory space counters other international efforts – notably the Montreux Document and the International Code of Conduct – which seek to strengthen the resolve of states and PMSCs to uphold and respect international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights. The Working Paper focuses on recent self-regulatory guidelines that have been created by private military and security companies (PMSCs) in order to deter calls for stricter regulations of the industry. The increasing privatization of security is a central feature of the way in which the control and oversight of armed force is currently being recalibrated – requiring no less than a comprehensive rethinking of the relationship between the state and the individual citizen.

Current armed conflicts in latin america