Soldiers of Fortune?
In an open letter responding to an article - 'MPs' report asks for pirate-killing guide' by the UK paper, Morning Star, in which it contains the words “British mercenaries need better regulatory guidance when it comes to killing Somali pirates, MPs said in a controversial report released today,” David Stone of APPDS Ltd, lays out the position of Private Military Security Companies and the misguided use of the term 'Mercenary'. He also details the stance in the movement of weapons. Providing detail of his background and experience, David makes the point that regulation and accreditation are important aspects for the profession if they are to achieve accepted standards within the shipping industry. The letter states:
This sentence [above] alone smears all the Private Security Companies working in the maritime security industry, not just UK-based, but those outside of the UK as this is an International problem, and one which not only the UK is fighting.
I would draw your attention to the word “Mercenary” and the fact that mercenaries are illegal according to the UN's International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries and also the Broader Legal Definition of 'Mercenary' Needed, Says Special Rapporteur.
If you wish to publish facts, perhaps you may want to carry out research first. On the other hand of course the word “Mercenary” sells better than PMSC (Private Military Security Company) and sounds more “sexy”.
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| The Wild Geese (Source: Wikipedia) |
The article also goes on with a quote from Mr. Steven Askins [of Ince & Co] "A whole host of maritime security operators are shifting a large number of weapons around on any given day and are simply not abiding by UK law to do it."
Point of fact is that if the arms are in another country and the PMSC is in compliance with that countries laws, then UK law does not come into play, unless a UK-flagged vessel is being protected. I base my knowledge of this on the fact that I am a consultant to the Swiss initiative for the counter proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and am also a consultant to MARLO (US Maritime Liaison Office Naples) on this and other topics concerning proliferation of SALW’s, Narcotics and Human trafficking.
Apart from being the Secretary / Treasurer of the International Association of Martime Security Professionals (IAMSP), I also own two companies; one of which is a Maritime Security company, APPDS Maritime Security Ltd. The other is an arms company, APPDS, many of the Maritime security companies working to protect the critical infrastructure of various countries, UK included, buy their arms from my company. The arms are legal as I am a licensed arms dealer licensed by UK Secretary of State (SPIRE).
The IAMSP is fighting to gain acceptance of the status of professionals in the Maritime Security Industry and Anti-Piracy is only a small part of it. Whereby it should also be pointed out that there are various measures in place to ensure compliance with International – National –Flag State laws as regards the use of Private Security companies and the use of an escalation of force up to and including lethal, if necessary. These are called Rules on the Use of Force (RUF’s) and derive from the various International laws on rules of self defence - OHCHR Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and the Montreux document on Private Military and Security Companies.
There are also governmental working groups working together with the Swiss initiative on the International Code of Conduct for Private security Providers (ICoC) (PDF document).
The difference between Mercenaries and Private Security Companies:
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| The Difference Between Mercenary & Private Security (2011© Evolutionary Security.ca) |
The letter goes on to say "I hope that you will see fit to apologise and publish a retraction for this incredible 'Faux Pas' in the Morning Star Online as you have done a lot of people a big injustice by placing them in the same category as 'Mercenaries'."
The views stated are those of the contributor, and do not necessarily reflect those of OCEANUSLive. There are other bodies looking to establish regulation within the Maritime Security field, and other Private Maritime Security Companies providing services in high risk areas. Any use of such companies should follow Due Diligence processes.
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