A/HRC/15/25 42. The Working Group believes that the Human Rights Council would constitute the best forum for the development of a new international instrument for the regulation, oversight and monitoring of PMSCs, to address the above-mentioned challenges, inter alia. B. Scope of application 43. Given that intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union and others are using the services of PMSCs, the Working Group considers it important to establish a framework by which such organizations may adhere to the convention within the limits of their competence with respect to PMSCs, their activities and personnel. 44. Drawing on the example of the most recent international convention to enter into force, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which establishes in its article 44 that regional integration organizations shall be treated as States parties in matters within their competence, the Working Group included a similar clause in its draft convention. 45. Article 3 of the draft text states that the proposed convention applies to States and intergovernmental organizations, within the limits of their competence, with respect to PMSCs, their activities and personnel. 46. Finally, the draft convention specifies that it would apply to all situations whether or not the situation is defined as an armed conflict. C. Content 47. The draft convention as annexed to the report is in six parts. 48. The preamble reaffirms, inter alia, the relevant principles and rules of international human rights and international humanitarian law, expresses concerns about the increasing delegation or outsourcing of inherently State functions which undermine any State’s capacity to retain its monopoly on the legitimate use of force, reiterates that responsibility for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law may be imputable not only to States but also to intergovernmental organizations and non-State actors, recalls the International Law Commission’s Articles on State Responsibility, and the international commitment to prevent impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, acknowledges the duty of all States to prevent human rights violations through legislative and other measures, the duty to investigate reports of violations and, where appropriate, prosecute and punish offenders and to provide effective remedies to the victims, and also acknowledges the duty of all States to prevent violations of human rights or other abuses committed by or involving transnational corporations and other business enterprises considers that victims of human rights violations have the right to effective remedies, and declares that mechanisms must be devised to ensure the accountability of States, intergovernmental organizations and PMSCs. 49. The general provisions of the draft convention are set out in Part I and include the purpose, definitions, and scope of application. The purposes of the present convention are: • To reaffirm and strengthen the State responsibility for the use of force and reiterate the importance of the State monopoly of the legitimate use of force • To identify those functions which are inherently State functions and which cannot be outsourced under any circumstances • To regulate the activities of PMSCs and subcontractors GE.10-15155 11