The United Nations Mercenary Convention, officially the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, is a 2001

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

. At the 72nd plenary meeting on 4 December 1989, the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

concluded the convention as its resolution 44/34. The convention entered into force on 20 October 2001International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries
A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention

�� and has been ratified by 46 states. The convention extends on the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...

Protocol I Protocol I (sometimes referred to as Additional Protocol I or AP 1) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of ''international conflicts'', extending to "armed conflicts in which peoples are ...

which in Article 47(1) states that a mercenary cannot be a

lawful combatant Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Article 1 (Definition of mercenary)

Article 1 of the Convention has the following definition of a mercenary:

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Signatories and parties

As of August 2021, the convention had been ratified by 46 states. Below are the states that have signed, ratified or acceded to the convention. Several of the states that ratified the agreement are however signatories of the Montreux document which on the contrary of the afore-written convention, does not make illegal the use of mercenaries but gives a document about the use of mercenaries including "good practises", the agreement having no sanctions or legal constraints tied to it.

References

External links

Text of the convention, list of signatories

on the ''International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries'' in th

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercenary Convention United Nations treaties Treaties adopted by United Nations General Assembly resolutions

United Nations Mercenary Convention The United Nations Mercenary Convention, officially the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, is a 2001 United Nations treaty that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of mer ...

Treaties concluded in 1989 Treaties entered into force in 2001 Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of Barbados Treaties of Belarus Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Cameroon Treaties of Costa Rica Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of Equatorial Guinea Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Guinea Treaties of Honduras Treaties of Italy Treaties of Liberia Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of the Maldives Treaties of Mali Treaties of Mauritania Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Qatar Treaties of Peru Treaties of Moldova Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Suriname Treaties of Syria Treaties of Togo Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of Ukraine Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Uzbekistan 1989 politics in New York (state) Treaties of Venezuela