Circumventing Accountability: Private Military Companies and Human Rights Abuses
59 Pages Posted: 27 Jan 2011 Last revised: 1 Feb 2015
Date Written: January 27, 2011
Abstract
To date there have been too few successful criminal and civil court cases against private military companies under both international law and national law for human right violations. Albeit there are those who argue the reasons for this is due to a lack of existing law, there are also those who argue the necessary laws do exist, however they have yet to be fully utilized. To provide further analysis and insight into why this might be the case, this paper aims to provide the reader with an extensive overview of existing jurisprudence that may be used to find accountability for violations in international law by private military companies. More specifically this paper will examine existing international law and domestic law, including criminal and civil possibilities. To do so, the case study of American private military companies alleged to have committed violations of international law while operating in Iraq will be utilized. Findings suggest an overall lack of political will rather than a lack of applicable law.
Keywords: Private Military Companies, Human Rights, International Law
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