A/HRC/42/42 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 29 July 2019 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-second session 9–27 September 2019 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Relationship between private military and security companies and the extractive industry from a human rights perspective Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination* Summary In the present report, the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination gives a summary of its activities from August 2018 to July 2019, then focuses on the relationship between private military and security companies and the extractive industry from a human rights perspective. The extractive industry in fact constitutes an important client base for such companies, and has been associated with allegations of serious human rights abuses and violations for many years. The Working Group sets out key considerations with respect to the context of the extractive industry in which private military and security companies operate. It examines their role alongside other security providers in complex and often opaque mixed security arrangements. It outlines relevant international and national law provisions and other instruments, as well as non-binding initiatives of relevance to the conduct of security actors in the extractive industry, considering the limitations of these initiatives in the absence of strong national and international legally binding regulations for private military and security companies. The Working Group then examines the most commonly reported human rights abuses and violations committed and facilitated by private military and security companies mandated by extractive clients. It analyses the factors relating to the lack of accountability and effective remedies for victims for such abuses and violations. * Agreement was reached to publish the present report after the standard publication date owing to circumstances beyond the submitter’s control. GE.19-12868(E) 