A/HRC/39/49 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, and Human Rights Council resolution 33/4, in which the Council further renewed the mandate. The 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/36/47). These include regular sessions, country visits and other activities of the members during the reporting period. 2. In addition, the present report contains the outcome of a study of the Working Group on the phenomenon of the recruitment and use of children by non-State armed groups, including mercenaries and private military and security companies. 3. 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 the enjoyment of human rights. In past years, the Working Group has conducted various types of research and studies to assess the linkages between mercenarism and foreign fighters, devoting attention to the human rights impact of these activities; recruitment practices; and motivational factors, particularly economic or financial gains, that draw foreign fighters into engaging in armed conflict. The findings of the Working Group on these topics were elaborated in its past reports to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.1 The Working Group has found similarities and linkages between mercenarism and the foreign fighter phenomenon that justify classifying the latter as a mercenary-like activity. 4. Through its various official country visits, the Working Group has had the opportunity to assess closely the situations in which mercenaries, foreign fighters and private military and security companies operate. Among the issues identified during these visits, the Working Group is particularly concerned by the widespread phenomenon of recruitment and use of children by non-State armed groups, including foreign fighters, either to actively participate in hostilities or to provide direct support. In its visit to Côte d’Ivoire, the Working Group found that children who were exposed to a culture of violence and subsequently engaged in criminal activities as a result were also susceptible to being recruited as combatants. Some of those children later became mercenaries or joined criminal gangs (see A/HRC/30/34/Add.1, para. 54). In the Central African Republic, the Working Group found that some children who had been connected with armed groups later joined armed rebellions in neighbouring countries as foreign fighters (see A/HRC/36/47/Add.1, para. 57). 5. As part of the above-mentioned study, on 30 November 2017, the Working Group held a private expert consultation in Geneva to collect and discuss information. In the present report, the Working Group presents the outcome of the study. The report sets out the relevant international legal framework and complementary non-binding initiatives. It explores the associated motivational factors that result in children being associated with non-State armed groups. The report provides an analysis of the human rights impact of this phenomenon, including from a gender perspective. It also discusses issues related to the alleged recruitment of former child soldiers by private military and security companies. Following an examination of responses to the phenomenon, the report concludes with recommendations for States and other relevant stakeholders. 1 See A/70/330, A/71/318, A/HRC/33/43/Add.1-3 and A/HRC/36/47/Add.1. 3