PRIVATE MILITARY AND SECURITY COMPANIES

Early day motion 690, tabled 22 January 2007 by David Anderson (Labour). Signed by 103 members.

That this House welcomes the recent War on Want report entitled Corporate Mercenaries which examines the role of mercenaries and private military security companies (PMSCs) in conflict zones around the world; shares its concerns over the exponential growth of PMSCs since the invasion of Iraq; notes that PMSCs work alongside regular soldiers providing combat support in conflict situations, yet remain unregulated and unaccountable leaving open the potential for human rights violations; further notes that problems posed by proliferation of PMSCs were highlighted in a Green Paper in February 2002 that originated in a request from the Foreign Affairs Committee but that almost five years later there is still no United Kingdom legislation regulating PMSCs; believes that self-regulation by the industry is not appropriate in this instance; and urges the Government to move towards binding legislation to control the PMSC sector as an urgent priority.

Signatures by party: Labour 60, Liberal Democrat 32, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Conservative 2, Plaid Cymru 2, Scottish National Party 2, Independent 1, UUP 1.