A/HRC/33/43 I. Introduction 1. The present report covers the activities 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 since its previous report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/30/34 and Add.1). In addition, it contains the results of the Working Group’s study on national legislation concerning private military and security companies in Eastern Europe, the Asia and Pacific region and North America. 2. The report is submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/2, by which the Commission established the mandate of the Working Group, and Human Rights Council resolution 30/6, by which the Council further extended the mandate. 3. The Working Group comprises five independent experts: Patricia Arias (Chile), Elzbieta Karska (Poland), Anton Katz (South Africa), Gabor Rona (United States of America) and Saeed Mokbil (Yemen). Ms. Karska served as Chair-Rapporteur for the period January 2015 to May 2016; Ms. Arias holds the Chair until 31 October 2016. 4. For the purpose of the present report, a private military and security company is defined as “a corporate entity which provides, on a compensatory basis, military and/or security services by physical persons and/or legal entities”. Military services refer to “specialized services related to military actions, including strategic planning, intelligence, investigation, land, sea or air reconnaissance, flight operations of any type, manned or unmanned, satellite surveillance, any kind of knowledge transfer with military applications, material and technical support to armed forces and other related activities”. Security services refer to “armed guarding or protection of buildings, installations, property and people, any kind of knowledge transfer with security and policing applications, development and implementation of informational security measures and other related activities”.1 II. Activities of the Working Group A. Twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh sessions of the Working Group 5. The Working Group held three sessions from 1 July 2015 to 31 to April 2016. During its twenty-fifth session, held in New York from 20 to 24 July 2015, it convened an expert panel on foreign fighters. It also met with United Nations officials on the adoption of some of its recommendations on the use of private military and security companies by the United Nations, with non-governmental organizations and with representatives of the private military and security industry. 6. At its twenty-sixth session, held in Geneva from 30 November to 4 December 2015, the Working Group convened an expert panel on private military and security companies, met with representatives of Member States on country visits and issues concerning the mandate as well as with a representative of the private military and security industry. 7. At its twenty-seventh session, held in Geneva from 11 to 15 April 2016, the Working Group convened an expert panel on foreign fighters and the evolution of mercenarism. 1 Draft convention on private military and security companies (see A/HRC/15/25, annex). 3