A/HRC/42/42/Add.1 residence to engage in violence as part of an insurgency or a non-State armed group in an armed conflict (A/70/330, para. 13). 8. Both mercenaries and foreign fighters are external actors who intervene in an armed conflict. Mercenaries are neither nationals of a party to the conflict nor residents of a territory controlled by a party to the conflict. Similarly, foreign fighters, while they may or may not be nationals of a party to the conflict, do not reside in the State affected by the conflict and have travelled from abroad to join the insurgency. Both mercenaries and foreign fighters may be recruited abroad or locally (ibid., para. 14). 9. The right to self-determination, in its contemporary manifestation, encompasses political struggles for greater democracy and human rights. This right is referred to in Article 1 (2) of the Charter of the United Nations as a fundamental principle necessary for the purpose of strengthening universal peace. In its general comment No. 12 (1984) on the right to self-determination, the Human Rights Committee recognized this right as an essential condition for the effective guarantee and observance of individual human rights, and for the promotion and strengthening of those rights. This right is also broadly understood as the right of peoples to determine their own political and economic system, including by participatory political processes. 10. The Working Group defines a private military or security company as a corporate entity that provides, on a compensatory basis, military and/or security services by physical persons and/or legal entities. B. Background 11. Chad is a landlocked country that borders Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Libya, the Niger, Nigeria and the Sudan. It hosts a population of around 14.9 million people, half of whom are under 18 years old and who are mostly unemployed. Chad experienced a short period of increased wealth in the early 2000s through oil trade, but the dropping price of oil has led to austerity measures, affecting the economic situation and leading to increased poverty. Around 70 per cent of the country’s economy depends on oil-based resources. 12. Chad is located in the Sahel region, an arid strip of land that is severely affected by environmental and climate-related changes that have resulted in soil erosion, desertification and droughts, which have in turn caused serious food shortages and life-threatening malnutrition among the local population. 13. In 2017, Chad was ranked 186 out of 189 countries in the human development index, making it one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Households are mainly dependent on farming and livestock for their livelihood, and around 87 per cent of its mainly rural population lives below the poverty line.1 Life expectancy is around 50 years of age. The poverty rate is expected to rise due to drastic climate change and ongoing armed conflicts. 14. Chad has over 100 ethnic groups. Groups that live near the borders with neighbouring countries often share ethnic or tribal connections, cultural practices and languages across those administrative borders. Around 53 per cent of Chadians are Muslims, 34 per cent are Christians and 7 per cent are animists or believers of traditional religions, while the remainder practice other beliefs. Much of the Muslim population is known to reside in the northern and eastern part of the country, bordering Libya and the Sudan, while Christians and animists largely reside in the southern region. History of armed conflicts 15. One interlocutor referred to Chad as an “island in an ocean of wars”. The country has endured a difficult history of armed conflicts, military coups and political instability since its independence from France in 1960. Civil wars took place in three phases, from 1965 to 1979, 1 World Food Programme, “Chad”. Available at www1.wfp.org/countries/chad. 3