UN experts on mercenaries warn of expanding use of proxy actors in both conflict and peace-time settings
Press releases
Special Procedures
07 November 2025
NEW YORK -- The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries has warned of the growing and evolving use of mercenaries, related actors and private military and security companies (PMSCs) as proxies, enablers, and facilitators of violence, repression, and human rights violations worldwide, in a new report to the General Assembly.
"We are deeply concerned that these actors are increasingly recruited not only in armed conflict but also in peace-time settings, including in counter-terrorism, organised crime, and humanitarian operations," said Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito, Chair of the Working Group. "Proxies, facilitators and enablers often bypass international legal frameworks, evade accountability, and result in grave harm to civilian populations. They are not merely bystanders to conflict; they are key initiators and perpetrators of conflicts."
The report notes that these actors operate in legal grey zones and are used to suppress opposition, exploit resources, and destabilise entire regions. The report documents widespread abuses including massacres, torture, sexual violence and forced displacement.
"We are also concerned about the rise of State-sponsored military companies - entities that blur the line between public and private, between national service and profit-seeking enterprises. The privatisation of force and the reliance on these actors gravely undermines sovereignty and threatens the international order," the experts said.
The use of digital platforms for the recruitment of mercenary-related actors and to perpetuate disinformation campaigns, and cyberattacks, exacerbates the difficulty of bringing perpetrators to justice, the report said.
The Working Group urged Member States, the UN and the international community to strengthen protections against mercenarism and PMSC activities and to stem the use of proxy actors, enablers and facilitators through improved coordination across its entities. Measures by all stakeholders aimed at holding perpetrators accountable need to be well-coordinated and supported, the experts said.
"The spread of mercenaries, related actors and PMSCs used as proxies, enablers and facilitators is not only a threat to human rights — it is a direct attack on the international order," they said.
*The experts:The Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.
Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
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