A/HRC/18/32 immunity covers all contractors employed by the Government of the United States and whether it is fully applied in Iraqi courts. In any case, the removal of immunity fails to provide justice to those who were victims of serious human rights violations prior to 2009. 24. Coalition Provisional Authority order 17 remains the legal basis for the regulation of private military and security companies by the Government of Iraq. In the view of the Working Group, this is not a firm basis for regulation. Iraq has introduced legislation regulating security companies, which has been pending since 2008. The Working Group urged the Government to adopt this legislation as a matter of priority. It also urged the Government to remain vigilant and devote the necessary resources to ensure that security companies – whether international or Iraqi – were stringently regulated and that they respect the human rights of the Iraqi people. The full report and recommendations are contained in an addendum to the present report (A/HRC/18/32/Add.4). D. Participation in the intergovernmental working group on the regulation of private military and security companies 25. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 15/26, established an open-ended intergovernmental working group to consider the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory framework, including, inter alia, the option of elaborating a legally binding instrument on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies, including their accountability, taking into consideration the principles, main elements and draft text as proposed by the Working Group. In the resolution, the Council also provides that members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries who were involved in the elaboration of the principles, main elements and draft text for a possible convention should participate in the open-ended intergovernmental working group as resource persons. 26. Accordingly, the members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries participated as resource persons in the first session of the intergovernmental working group, which was held in Geneva from 23 to 27 May 2011. Members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries made presentations on the law and practice in relation to private military and security companies, national legislation and practices, the elements of an international regulatory framework and accountability and the right to an effective remedy for victims. E. Other activities of the Working Group members 27. The Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group, Mr. Gómez del Prado, and Ms. Benavides de Pérez participated in Forum 2010, an international cultural gathering, which was held in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) from 4 to 15 December 2010. Ms. Benavides de Pérez made a presentation at the World Forum on Education, Research and Culture of Peace on the theme “Threats and challenges posed to the international community by the privatization of security”. 28. On 18 January 2011, the Chairperson-Rapporteur made a statement to the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council on the occasion of the consideration of the progress report on the right of peoples to peace. The drafting group of the Advisory Committee proposed several provisions in the progress report regarding private military and security companies, namely that (a) States should refrain from outsourcing inherently State military and security functions to private contractors; and that (b) States should ensure that private military and security companies, their personnel and any structures related to their activities perform their respective functions under officially enacted laws consistent with international human rights and humanitarian law. 8