A/HRC/42/42 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/2, in which the Commission established the mandate 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, and Human Rights Council resolution 33/4, in which the Council renewed that mandate. The report covers the activities of the Working Group since its previous report to the Council (A/HRC/39/49). 2. The Working Group is mandated by the Human Rights Council to monitor and study the effects of mercenaries and mercenary-related activities, as well as the impact of the activities of private military and security companies on human rights, particularly on the right of peoples to self-determination. Following on from its previous studies on national regulations of the said companies and on the privatization of security in places of deprivation of liberty (see A/HRC/36/47 and A/72/286), the Working Group continues its examination of the human rights impact of private military and security companies operating in specific sectors. In the present report, the Working Group considers the role of private military and security companies in the extractive industry, a sector that has witnessed significant growth across the world, which has in turn stimulated demand for security services in extractive projects, particularly for projects located in areas marked by weak governance or armed conflict. 3. In the present report, the Working Group seeks to shed light on the relationship between private military and security companies and the extractive industry and its human rights impact. In recent years, these two sectors have been at the centre of a number of allegations of human rights abuses in different regions. Although the human rights impact of the extractive sector on the one hand and the private military and security sector on the other have been studied and analysed and led to the establishment of several international initiatives, the interaction between the two has received significantly less attention. 4. The Working Group therefore explores the role played by private military and security companies within security arrangements put in place by extractive companies. It also examines the human rights impact of private military and security companies working for extractive companies, analyses the existing regulatory framework applicable to these actors, and considers the challenges in achieving accountability and providing remedies to victims of human rights abuses committed by private military and security companies in the service of extractive companies. Lastly, the Working Group makes recommendations to States, private military and security companies, extractive companies and other stakeholders. II. Activities of the Working Group 5. On 31 July 2018, the term of office of Gabor Rona ended. The Working Group is grateful for his valuable expertise and contribution to initiatives and activities implementing the mandate during his six-year tenure. On 1 August 2018, following her appointment by the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session, Sorcha MacLeod joined fellow members Jelena Aparac, Lilian Bobea, Chris Kwaja and Saeed Mokbil. A. Thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh sessions of the Working Group 6. The Working Group held its thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth sessions in Geneva from 26 to 30 November 2018 and from 1 to 5 April 2019 respectively; it held its thirty-seventh session in New York from 15 to 19 July 2019. During the sessions, members of the Working Group held bilateral meetings with representatives of Member States, international and nongovernmental organizations and other relevant interlocutors. At the thirty-fifth session, the members reflected on their future thematic priorities. At its thirty-sixth session, the Working Group convened two expert consultations with a view to gathering information for its thematic reports. Members and external experts engaged in vibrant and rich discussions on the gender dimensions of the private military and security industry on 2 April, and shed light 3