A/HRC/42/42 on the relationship between private military and security companies and the extractive industry on 3 April. B. Communications 7. Since its previous report to the Human Rights Council, the Working Group addressed a number of communications jointly with other special procedure mandate holders. Communications were addressed to the Governments of Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding the risk of arbitrary deprivation of life and violations of other human rights of foreign nationals facing prosecution and trials in Iraq in relation to their alleged membership in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. A communication was addressed to the Russian Federation and the Central African Republic in relation to the killing of journalists who were reportedly investigating the activities of a private military security company. Communications were also addressed to the United States of America and to two companies based in the United States, and to Australia, highlighting allegations of human rights violations and abuses committed in two migrant detention centres that are serviced by private military and security companies.1 C. Country visits 8. Country visits are a key element in the implementation of the mandate of the Working Group, providing an insight into concrete practices and challenges on the ground, helping to reveal the impact of the activities of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and security companies on human rights while engaging constructively with States and other stakeholders on issues pertinent to the mandate. Many of the requests made by the Working Group for country visits are, however, not met favourably. The Working Group nonetheless strives to ensure a balanced geographical coverage in its visits. 9. In this regard, the Working Group recalls the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21, in which the Council urged States to cooperate and assist the special procedures by responding in a timely manner to requests for information and visits. The Working Group also draws attention to the remarks made by the Secretary-General to the Security Council on mercenary activities in Africa on 4 February 2019, when he urged all countries to cooperate with the Working Group, including those to which the Working Group had sent an official visit request. 10. During the period under review, the Working Group conducted an official visit to Switzerland from 13 to 17 May 2019, and will present a report on the visit to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fifth session. D. Selected activities of the Working Group members 11. On 17 October 2018, a member of the Working Group, Jelena Aparac, made a presentation to the First Standing Committee (on Peace and International Security) of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at a hearing on “the non-admissibility of using mercenaries as a means of undermining peace and violating human rights”. The Working Group subsequently commented on the draft resolution prepared by the Standing Committee thereon. The IPU Assembly adopted a resolution on the non-admissibility of using mercenaries and foreign fighters as a means of undermining peace, international security and the territorial integrity of States, and violating human rights by consensus on 10 April 2019. 12. On 23 January 2019, Ms. Aparac delivered her remarks at the Security Dialogue on Private Military and Security Companies, organized by Switzerland as chair of the Forum for Security Cooperation of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in Vienna. 1 4 Summaries of the communications are available from www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/CommunicationsreportsSP.aspx.