Suchergebnisse

Arbitrary deprivation of liberty is prohibited by international law; hence even during armed conflict internment of adversaries must have a legal basis in international humanitarian law or national law. The law of non-international armed conflict contains an inherent power to intern. Nevertheless, a further legal source is needed to ensure detention is not arbitrary, outlining grounds and procedure of detention. Such legal grounds do not exist for internment by organised armed groups. This article will outline the possible consequences for members of armed groups when interning without a further legal basis, thus in violation of the prohibition of arbitrary detention, and will subsequently suggest solutions to overcome the imbalance between obligations imposed upon and instruments granted to these actors.

It is well documented that the private military and security industry has the capacity to do great gendered harms to both those it encounters and those it employs.1 Significantly, it is also a sector where a variety of human rights-based approaches, instruments and mechanisms have emerged beyond the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).2 The International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers (ICoC) addresses gender, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and explicitly requires private military and security companies (PMSCs) to integrate a gender perspective in their practices.3 Through an examination of publicly available documents and policies required for PMSCs certified as complying with the ICoC, this piece evaluates whether PMSCs do in fact integrate a gender perspective into their human rights policies and grievance procedures (see Table 1).4 Our study of certified PMSCs demonstrates that despite increased attention to the potential for negative gender impacts in the sector, companies have not developed gender-responsive policies and procedures. It can be said, therefore, that gender is not addressed in any meaningful way by PMSCs. More specifically, we conclude that PMSCs have not yet shown the required holistic understanding of gendered impacts and barriers that is required to respect human rights, and that further efforts are needed in the sector.

It is well known that the private military and security sector is an overwhelmingly male-dominated industry. This is partially a result of the 'revolving door phenomenon' whereby former members of armed forces and police services are employed by Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC) and traditional notions of masculinity that prevail in the armed forces and police are thus replicated in the private sector. Perception of the industry as male plus other barriers also play a role in limiting women's access to the sector. Consequently, these lead to specific gendered human rights impacts for employees of private security providers, as well as significant and gendered human rights violations perpetrated against local communities in the areas in which they operate. In addition, the private security sector is one that has experienced significant public attention and resultant human rights regulation in the past decade. Nevertheless, the focus given to gender is limited, non-intersectional, and restricted largely to human trafficking and discrimination. This paper explores: (1) the gendered nature of PMSC human rights impacts; and (2) the gender gaps in the regulatory frameworks at international and national levels, including National Action Plans (NAP) on business and human rights and the efforts of the UN Open-ended Inter-Governmental Working Group on PMSCs (OEIGWG) to establish an international regulatory framework. It concludes that the private military and security industry has the potential to cause disproportionately gendered impacts due to its composition and nature, amplified by the power-imbalance between PMSCs and local communities, and their deployment in fragile contexts. Despite this potential for negative impacts, there are considerable gaps in regulation concerning gender which demand urgent attention.