Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination

Urges all States to take the necessary steps and to exercise the utmost vigilance against the menace posed by the activities of mercenaries and to take appropriate legislative measures to ensure that their territories and other territories under their control, as well as their nationals, are not used for the recruitment, assembly, financing, training and transit of mercenaries for the planning of activities designed to destabilize or overthrow the Government or threaten the territorial integrity and political unity of sovereign States or to promote secession or to fight the national liberation movements struggling against colonial or other forms of alien domination or occupartion; requests the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as a matter of priority, to publicize the adverse effects of mercenary activities on the right to self-determination and, when requested and where necessary, to render advisory services to States that are affected by the activities of mercenaries; requests the Secretary-General to invite Governments to make proposals towards a clearer legal definition of mercenaries.

Adopted 113-18-41, 70th meeting

3 p.

Adopted at the 70th plenary meeting, 12 Dec. 1997.