December 3, 2013, 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM – American University Washington College of Law, 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20016, 6th Floor Lounges
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Montreux Document on pertinent international legal obligations and good practices for States related to operations of private military and security companies during armed conflict. Drafted with multi-stakeholder input and currently supported by 46 states and the European Union, the Montreux Document recalls existing international humanitarian and human rights law obligations of states with regards to the activities of private military and security companies, and elaborates good practices to assist states in meeting those obligations. The report, Montreux Five Years On, highlights the significant and ongoing challenges that participating states face in meeting their legal obligations and implementing the good practices. The report provides recommendations to states, including the need to ensure better oversight of and accountability for private military and security companies and their personnel and to improve victims’ ability to access justice.
The report is being released in advance of a conference, Montreux +5, hosted by the Swiss Government and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from December 11-13 in Montreux. At the conference, findings will be presented of supporting states’ implementation efforts, and examples of good practices will be shared based on information states provided in response to a questionnaire circulated by the Swiss and ICRC. Montreux Five Years On, drafted by a global team of academics, human rights activists, and experts on the private military and security industry, provides a critical counterpoint and identifies where there are gaps in states’ efforts to meet their Montreux Document commitments.
A copy of the report can be found here and a video recording of the Shadow Report release conference can be seen here.
