Denmark-Private Military Contractors
The issue to use private military contractors (PMCs) in international warfare
is open to debate. The nation of Denmark opposes the use of PMCs in warfare
on the grounds that they normally fight only for pay, their actions many times
involve human rights violations, and their operations and actions are not yet as
heavily regulated as the traditional militaries are. Denmark supports legislation
that would ensure protection for not only civilians affected, but nations as a
whole.
Because many security companies hire out their forces, the allegiance of
these personnel is tied directly to monetary gain. If perhaps one faction of a
conflict offers more compared to what the hiring nation does then the hired forces
may turn against the nation that hired them. Thus resulting in possible losses of
equipment and/or lives.
PMCs have generally been known to infringe upon human rights laws. For
instance, on September 16, 2007 employees of the US-based private security
firm, Blackwater, were involved in a shooting incident in Nisoor Square located in
Baghdad. Seventeen people were killed and twenty injured, including women and
children. In an unrelated incident Xe/Blackwater, two security firms, were
involved in nearly 200 escalation-of-force incidents that involved the firing of
shots, since 2005. The company’s contracts stated that guards may only engage
in defensive force, but the guards in these incidents were found to have fired the
first shots eighty-percent of the time.
Further legislation and regulation of these PMCs would be needed to better
protect civilians from these incidents. In recent conflicts in the Middle East and
Africa, NATO as well as other individual nations utilized the use of PMCs.
Because of this utilization many incidents and conflicts have arisen from their
use. Civilians as well as political leaders are weary of their use amid the rising
tensions and incidents when they are used. If they are to be utilized more in the
coming future, then heavier regulation and oversight should be put in place by
the United Nations and its member nations to better protect and serve the people
the PMCs are representing in conflict. This will better ensure nation’s safety and
security in the face of war and conflict.
Although there are many concerns surrounding their use, PMCs could
possibly allow nations of all sizes to better protect themselves and their allies.
Better regulation and legislation would have to be put in place first to keep the
PMSCs from conducting any action that may infringe upon any previously set law
by the UN and/or its member nations.