Article 1 contains the definition of a mercenary. It entered into force on 20 October 2001 and is usually known as the UN Mercenary Convention. On 4 December 1989, the United Nations passed resolution 44/34, the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries. If they have not "in fact, taken a direct part in the hostilities" (APGC77 Art 47.b), they are not mercenaries but civilians who have non-combat support roles and are entitled to protection under the Third Geneva Convention (GCIII 4.1.4). The legal status of civilian contractors depends upon the nature of their work and their nationalities with respect to that of the combatants. The four mercenaries sentenced to death were shot by a firing squad on 10 July 1976.
The best known post-World War II example of this was on 28 June 1976 when, at the end of the Luanda Trial, an Angolan court sentenced three Britons and an American to death and nine other mercenaries to prison terms ranging from 16 to 30 years. As mercenary soldiers may not qualify as PoWs, they cannot expect repatriation at war's end. If, after a regular trial, a captured soldier is found to be a mercenary, then he can expect treatment as a common criminal and may face execution. The only possible exception to GC IV Art 5 is when he is a national of the authority imprisoning him, in which case he would not be a mercenary soldier as defined in APGC77 Art 47.d. At that juncture, the mercenary soldier becomes an unlawful combatant but still must be "treated with humanity and, in case of trial, shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and regular trial", being still covered by GC IV Art 5. That tribunal, using criteria in APGC77 or some equivalent domestic law, may decide that the soldier is a mercenary. (a) is especially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict (b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities (c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party (d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict (e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict and (f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.Īll the criteria (a–f) must be met, according to the Geneva Convention, for a combatant to be described as a mercenary.Īccording to the GC III, a captured soldier must be treated as a lawful combatant and, therefore, as a protected person with prisoner-of-war status until facing a competent tribunal (GC III Art 5). A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war. The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, ( Protocol I), 8 June 1977 states:ġ. Article 47 of the protocol provides the most widely accepted international definition of a mercenary, though not endorsed by some countries, including the United States. Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions. ( September 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. This section possibly contains original research. 4.6.4 Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.4.1.1.2 Greek mercenaries in ancient India.4.1.1.1 Greek mercenaries in Persian Empire.In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of a regular army. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protections by rules of war than non-mercenaries. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Condottiero meant "leader of mercenaries" in Italy during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.Ī mercenary, sometimes known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, who takes part in military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Leonardo da Vinci's Profilo di capitano antico, also known as il Condottiero, 1480.