In March 2026, the Colombian Parliament and then-President Petro agreed to accede to the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (International Convention). With the deposit of the accession instruments, Colombia will end a multi-year gap in the Convention’s adoption and become its 39th State party. This move represents a significant…

‘Remedy is rare’ for the victims of atrocity crimes and human rights violations committed by contemporary mercenaries. Indeed, there have been only a few prosecutions of mercenaries fighting in Ukraine since 2014 and those have been specifically for the crimes of mercenarism or for engaging in foreign military service. A shift occurred, however, on 14 March…

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen a leap in demand for certain types of private security services from both States and businesses, and exacerbation of existing challenges in the sector. Many governments and other actors, such as the European Commission, are categorising private security as an ‘essential service’ or ‘critical occupation.’…