the rise and rise of private military companies - Peace Operations ...

Hyder Gulamminimum period. The companies should be made responsible under AustralianCorporations’ Law for any breaches of human rights or the law of armed conflict thatmay be committed by their employees. 131Some other corporation law specific recommendations include expanding theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission’s powers to regulate the activitiesof PMCs. This would entail a considered amendment to the ASIC Act 2001. Similar tothe current ASIC powers under legislation, these amendments would permit ASICextensive powers to investigate suspected contravention of the Corporations Act 2001on its own initiative. The proposed amendments could also provide ASIC wideinformation-gathering powers to facilitate its investigation, including powers toinspect books and records. 132 Other amendments could also include providing thecourts wide jurisdiction to examine the overseas activities of PMCs, per s.1338A ofthe Corporation Act.The Australian government could also consider deploying an integrated militarydiplomaticteam with the PMC to provide overall guidance and monitoring of theexisting provisions of IHL. This could also monitor the belligerent parties inupholding the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and providing for mechanismssuch as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to monitor conflicts foradherence to international law. This would dovetail with the current action of theICRC as it is preparing to implement a policy to ensure that the humanitarianstandards of international law are upheld by private contractors who support worldarmed forces in areas of conflict. 133 In fact, under Article 90 of Additional Protocol 1,the ICRC could activate the dormant International Humanitarian fact FindingCommission. The Australian government could also ensure that the activities ofPMCs are open to UN observers. This would ensure the monitoring of the actions ofthe PMC in order to provide greater transparency of its actions and thus help allay theconcerns of the international community. 134In addition, a similar register to the U.N. Register of Conventional Arms, whichcompiles declarations by both importers and exporters of conventional arms, allowingcross-checking, could be created by the United Nations for PMCs. This would containdeclarations by the importers, the states or groups employing such firms, and theexporters, the PMCs themselves. 135 This function could be overseen by the Office ofthe Special Rapporteur.This is because the Special Rapporteur (SR) already has the systems and expertise inplace. Under the original mandate, the SR examines the question of the use ofmercenaries as a means of violating human rights and of impeding the exercise of theright of peoples to self-determination. Accordingly, the SR seeks and receivescredible and reliable information from Governments, as well as specialised agencies,131 Christopher Wrigley, ‘The Privatisation of Violence: New Mercenaries and the State’, March 1999,http://www.caat.org.uk/information/issues/mercenaries-1999.php132 Phillip Lipton and Abe Herzberg, Understanding Company Law (12 th Edition), 2004, LawbookCompany, p.556.133 Michael Sirak, ‘ICRC calls for contractor accountability in war’, Janes Defence Weekly 10 May2004, p.4.134 Op cit, fn.43 at 112.135 Op cit, fn.101, p.22Page 31The rise and rise of Private Military Companies