25 Jan How Mercenaries Can Help Battle Piracy and Stabilize Somalia
Pirates are non-state actors who cause serious international problems that are sometimes beyond the reach or interest of most governments. Mercenaries are non-state actors who can combat pirates without implicating the political and legal problems faced by regular armed forces. And so, it is not surprising, or unwelcome, to hear that mercenaries are getting involved in Somalia.
WASHINGTON — Erik Prince, the founder of the international security giant Blackwater Worldwide, is backing an effort by a controversial South African mercenary firm to insert itself into Somalia’s bloody civil war by protecting government leaders, training Somali troops, and battling pirates and Islamic militants there, according to American and Western officials.
The disclosure comes as Mr. Prince sells off his interest in the company he built into a behemoth with billions of dollars in American government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, work that mired him in lawsuits and investigations amid reports of reckless behavior by his operatives, including causing the deaths of civilians in Iraq. His efforts to wade into the chaos of Somalia appear to be Mr. Prince’s latest endeavor to remain at the center of a campaign against Islamic radicalism in some of the world’s most war-ravaged corners. Mr. Prince moved to the United Arab Emirates late last year.
Of course, mercenaries are not a long-term security solution, but it seems to me that in this situation, they could only improve things in ways that national armed forces can’t or won’t. It is true that there are many complex legal problems concerning their legal status under the law of war and other international laws, but they seem surmountable. And it seems that clarifying and stabilizing their legal status is a worthwhile goal, at least in situations like Somalia where there are few other attractive options.
[…] Opinio Juris » Blog Archive » How Mercenaries Can Help Battle Piracy and Stabilize Somalia opiniojuris.org/2011/01/25/how-mercenaries-can-help-battle-piracy-and-stabilize-somalia/ – view page – cached Pirates are non-state actors who cause serious international problems that are sometimes beyond the reach or interest of most governments. Mercenaries are non-state actors who can combat pirates without implicating the political and legal problems faced by regular armed forces. And so, it is not surprising, or unwelcome, to hear that mercenaries are getting involved in Somalia. […]
I’m not sure that this is a good idea at all. On my relatively basic knowledge of the laws governing mercenaries (including those laws that we need but not yet have), it would be incredibly problematic to be sending in such groups. Far from being removed from inter-state politics, I’m sure we’re all too aware of their political interests and involvements of such organisations. If they too are pursuing their own overarching policy objectives (aside from raking in the money), like that article suggested, what makes these non-state actors like any other, which currently tend to find themselves being characterised as being on the wrong side of the law?
Sending in a Blackwater backed South African private security firm with the profile that it has into Somalia is just asking for trouble.
Mr. Prince has had a fantasy about pirate hunting in Somalia for a while, and I still don’t think he’s thought through the economic long and the short of it.
Essentially, killing pirates is not profitable. Guarding ships might be, although shipping companies already have that option and most have not pursued it due to costs.
If you plan to attack pirates at their base, you not only expose your employers to untold possible legal ramifications, but you also eliminate a common threat at cost of one party paying for it.
What is unclear to me is what could a mercenary leagally do that a member of a national armed force could not?
Current best management practices leave the decision of whether to hire armed security up to each ship. The major concern here is an escalation of violence. Although ransoms have increased, there have not been many reports of hostages being killed. That is sure to change with increased use of armed security and aggressive military responses (see e.g. the South Korean rescue on the Samho Jewelry in which eight pirates were killed). Nonetheless, there are few options in the short term.
[…] Jan 25, 2011 | Opinio Juris | by Julian […]