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The past decade has seen rapid growth in the private security industry, both in Africa and globally. Private security companies have diversified their activities to include military advice and training, arms procurement, intelligence gathering, logistical and medical support and in limited instances, combat and operational support. As a result many African governments have engaged the services of internationally-operating private security companies, such as the American firms MPRI (Military and Professional Resources International), Dyncorp and PAE (Pacific Architects and Engineers), while more ‘traditional’ security companies such as Saracen, Gray Security and others are active in a number of countries such as Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.
The activities of the private military company Executive Outcomes in Angola and Sierra Leone in the past decade is a notable example of private actors engaging in combat and operational support; an area normally reserved for state armies. United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also outsourced their supply and logistical needs to private security companies. Most recently the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) contracted a commercial de-mining team to replace the Slovak military de-mining group to cut down on expenses. In the case of Sierra Leone, Executive Outcomes and later Sandline, were reported to have provided operational and combat support to the Sierra Leonean and British Armed forces although the exact extent of their support remains shrouded in mystery. Understandably, the presence of these organisations in Africa has raised questions related to the accountability and democratic oversight of this industry, the extent to which governments, the UN and relief agencies are outsourcing key ‘state’ functions and the influence that these companies gain in the process. Recently, the US, currently the largest aid donor to Sudan, has pledged support to the African Union peace mission there in the form of private contracts awarded to Dyncorp and Pacific Architects and Engineers.
Mercenarism, the darker side of the private military sector, continues to be a threat to stability on the African continent as was illustrated recently. Two attempted coup plots, one against the island state of São Tomé and Príncìpe and another against the central African state of Equatorial Guinea have been widely reported on recently. It is widely suspected that access to oil income by commercial companies colluding with political interests were the primary motivation. The connections of certain individuals to more ‘legitimate’ private security activities in Africa have blurred the lines between this and the blatantly illegal activities associated with the private security sector.
The rapid growth of private security in Africa has outpaced the regulation of the industry. With this in mind the ISS through the Defence Sector Programme (DSP) has initiated a project on “The Regulation of the Private Security Sector in Africa”. As part of the project, case studies shall be conducted to ascertain the extent to which the private security industry is active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa and Uganda. This will inform the question of whether or not there is a need to regulate the industry. Hence the project seeks to further support the effective regulation of the growing private security sector in Africa towards the establishment of a consistent and logical regulatory framework for national, sub-regional and regional legislation and protocols. The focus of the project will be the revision of the 1977 Organization for African Unity Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism and the development of pro forma regulatory frameworks for the private security sector in Africa at national, and sub-regional levels.
Useful Links
- Corporate profiles of some of Private Military Companies (PMCs) and enterprises rendering similar or related services - http://www.privatemilitary.org
- Directory of Private Military Companies (PMCs) - http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=PMC
- Publications by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) on Private Military Companies - http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/bg_private-military-companies.cfm?nav1=4&nav2;=1
- Documentation of coalition casualties for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom - http://www.icasualties.org
- Publication by on the globalization of the Private Security in Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone - http://users.aber.ac.uk/rbh/privatesecurity/publications.html
- International Peace Operations Association State of the Peace and Stability Operations Industry Survey 2006 - http://ipoaonline.org/php/index.php?option=com_content&task;=view&id;=103&Itemid;=110
- The Swiss Initiative on private military and security companies - http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/topics/intla/humlaw/pse/psechi.html
DOCUMENTS
Private military/security companies and human security in Africa; A study of peacekeeping, peace-enforcement and private military companies in Sierra Leon; Towards the revision of the 1977 Organisation of African Unity / African Union Convention on the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa; Private security contractors and international humanitarian law – a skirmish for recognition in international armed conflicts; Western Sahara: What can we expect from the Manhasset talks? Darfur and the impact of protest fever; African leaders in order of periods in office; The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur: Implications and prospects for success; A plan for military intervention in Darfur; Private military/security companies, human security, and state building in Africa; Filling the void: Contractors as peacemakers in Africa; Oh Big Brother, where art thou? On the Internet, of course … The use of intrusive methods of investigation by state intelligence services; Book: The security–development nexus: Expressions of sovereignty and securitization in Southern Africa;
