Reply #7: hmm

[iverglas]

An international convention I wasn't at all familiar with. Learned something new today in J/PS.

http://www.un.org/ga/documents/gares52/res52112.htm

<UN General Assembly Resolution> 52/112 Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination

... 4. Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to consider taking the necessary action to sign or to ratify the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries; ...

... Against: ... Canada ...

Now there's a question. Why the hell is Canada voting against this resolution, and not ratifying the convention??

The full list of nay-sayers: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federated States of Micronesia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States. Not the kind of places that have to worry much about mercenaries on their soil.

That resolution did pass, I gather, and here is the Special Rapporteur's report it directed be prepared:

http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord1999/documentation/commission/e-cn4-1999-11.htm

84. Mercenaries have been particularly active in Sierra Leone, where they were taken first by Executive Outcomes, the security and military advisory and assistance company registered in South Africa, and then by Sandline International, which is registered in the Bahamas and has offices in London. These two played an important role in the overthrow of the military junta of the alliance formed by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and in restoring democratically elected President Tejan Kabbah to power. They also trained the Kamajor paramilitary troops who are fighting the rebel forces of the overthrown Government with the acquiescence of the current Government and are responsible for grave human rights violations against prisoners and the civilian population. As a result of this intervention, a number of affiliates of Executive Outcomes and Sandline International are now exploiting Sierra Leone's mineral resources and the Diamond Works company has become Canada's largest diamond producer thanks to its operations in this West African country.

Pretty disgusting.

I'm a little short of the time needed to become truly conversant with this convention and the various resolutions referring to it, but here's another interesting one: http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2003/vol1/mercenarieschr.htm


And all of this does, of course, bring us to the issue of the illicit traffic in small arms, doesn't it just? What would a mercenary be without his <insert name(s) of firearm(s) favoured by mercenaries and other violators of the human rights of civilian populations and the self-determination rights of peoples>??

Kinda useless, I'd think.


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