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WAR ON WANT: Miliband Challenged On Mercenaries Abuse; Legal Writ Over
Government Failure To Act
(M2 PressWIRE Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)
RDATE:18022008
Foreign secretary David Miliband today faces a legal challenge over his
failure to ensure democratic control over private military companies -
only days after he promoted Britain spreading democracy around the
world.
The challenge, from the anti-poverty charity War on Want, follows
mounting reports of human rights abuse by mercenaries employed by
private military and security companies in war zones such as Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Last October guards working for British firm Erinys International
opened fire on a taxi near Kirkuk, wounding three civilians. In
September mercenaries from the American private military company
Blackwater killed 17 Iraqi civilians. Earlier a video published on the
internet showed mercenaries from UK-based Aegis Defence Services
randomly shooting at civilian cars from the back of their vehicle on
the road to Baghdad airport.
War on Want, calling for legislation including a ban on mercenaries'
use in combat, cites hundreds of incidents which have involved guards
from Aegis and another British firm ArmorGroup in shootings.
In the first four months of 2007 mercenaries working for ArmorGroup
were engaged in combat action 293 times. Aegis mercenaries have been
involved in combat action 168 times in the last three years and have
seen eight employees killed, according to its chief executive officer,
Tim Spicer. Spicer broke a UN arms embargo on Sierra Leone with his
former company Sandline International, and was jailed in Papua New
Guinea for earlier activities.
In the last parliamentary session more than 100 MPs signed an early day
motion urging the government to move towards binding legislation to
bring private military companies under democratic control.
The UN has repeatedly called on governments where private military
companies are incorporated, such as Britain, to introduce legislation
to regulate the sector and guard against the "inherent dangers" of
privatising the use of violence in war zones.
Both the US and Iraqi governments have started to take action to
control mercenary armies.
In February six years ago the UK government acknowledged the problems
over private armies in a green paper which listed options for
regulation.
In its response to the paper later that year, the Commons foreign
affairs committee recommended that "private companies be expressly
prohibited from direct participation in armed combat operations, and
that firearms should only be carried... by company employees for
purposes of training or self-defence".
The committee also proposed that the government consider "a complete
ban on recruitment for such activities of United Kingdom citizens by
overseas-based or offshore PMCs", while remaining activities be subject
to licence.
But since then the government has failed to move towards regulation.
Iraq has turned this commercial opportunity into a huge money spinner,
with UK companies among those making a real killing. British companies
increased profits from GBP320 million in 2003 to GBP1.8 billion in
2004. Estimates have suggested the total income for the private
security sector worldwide has reached $80-100 billion a year. In 2006,
UK company ArmorGroup saw revenues totalling $273 million. The company
earned $133 million in Iraq that year.
Aegis and ArmorGroup have won valuable contracts with the US and UK
governments in recent months. Aegis has won a new contract with the
Pentagon worth $475 million dollars over the next two years. The US
Army has favoured the company for a second time, following its earlier
$293 million contract from 2004. In 2007 ArmorGroup won the UK
government's GBP20 million annual contract for security services in
Afghanistan.
Ruth Tanner, senior campaigns officer at War on Want, said: "Despite
increasing evidence on human rights abuse by private military companies
in Iraq, the government has failed to act. This free for all cannot be
allowed to continue. David Miliband must act on this mercenary crisis
as an urgent priority."
NOTE TO EDITORS: A letter to Mr Miliband from War on Want's solicitors
Leigh Day & Co, which claims his failure to act on mercenaries is
unlawful, is attached.
CONTACT: War On Want
Tel: +44 (0)2075 490 555
Paul Collins, War on Want media office
Tel: +44 (0)2075 490 584
Tel: +44 (0)7983 550 728
WWW: http://www.waronwant.org
((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to
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Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd.
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