The role of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and/or security companies (PMSCs) in the exploitation of natural resources.
Submission to the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries to inform the Working Group's report to be presented to the 60th Session of the Human Rights Council in September 2025.
This submission updates and expands on MiningWatch Canada’s 2019 submission to the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries with a focus on:
- The high levels of reported violence and human rights abuses associated with private and public mine security
- The problem of parent company accountability
- Issues with the Voluntary Principles
- Corruption
The submission concludes with several recommendations in regard to Canada, the Voluntary Principles, and issues of corruption, and briefly details four cases in the Appendix. Two cases involve the Fenix ferro-nickel mine in El Estor, Guatemala and the Constancia Mine in Peru, both owned through subsidiaries of Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals Inc. (Hudbay). The other two cases are in regard to the Porgera Joint Venture gold mine in Papua New Guinea and the North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania owned through subsidiaries of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corp. (Barrick).
Full publication available here.