A/HRC/45/9/Add.1 with the handful of cases that are brought to the attention of judicial authorities. That said, it is important for the authorities to ensure that adult Swiss nationals who travel abroad with “terrorist motivations”, some of whom may be considered mercenaryrelated actors, receive appropriate support from the Swiss authorities to ensure that their rights are upheld if they are prosecuted in countries with poor human rights protections. 83. In the area of private military and security companies, Switzerland has shown exceptional leadership and commitment by steering international initiatives aimed at raising standards within the industry and increasing levels of awareness about the responsibilities of private military and security companies to respect human rights, prevent abuses by their personnel, and ensure access to an effective remedy in the event of such abuses. In 2019, Switzerland acted as Chair of three of the most important international initiatives in this field, namely the Montreux Document Forum, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. It remains unclear, however, whether there has been any tangible progress towards achieving the stated objective of increasing the impact of these initiatives on the ground during the past year. In the future, greater resources and efforts are needed to ensure tangible results. 84. Building on its role in international forums, Switzerland modelled strong regulatory practices by enacting national legislation in 2013 in the form of the Federal Act on Private Security Services Provided Abroad, as promoted by the Montreux Document. The Act is grounded in international human rights law and international humanitarian law and has a wide scope of application with a focus on services rather than entities. The Working Group commends Switzerland on the adoption of this law and on the exemplary efforts undertaken for practical implementation of the legislation, as demonstrated by the 2019 decision to prohibit services linked to the export of military training aircraft to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This decision offers a rare example, worldwide, of balancing risks to human rights and international humanitarian law with interests of the defence industry and related services. The Working Group therefore looks with concern at the recent discussions about potentially narrowing the scope of the Act, a development that could revert the regulatory progress made and weaken the ability to prevent human rights abuses and/or violations of international humanitarian law in the future. 85. Compared to private security services provided abroad, the regulatory framework with respect to private military and security companies operating domestically is lagging behind. The Working Group recognizes that no serious human rights abuses by such companies have been brought to its attention. Nevertheless, considering the sensitive nature of some of the tasks performed by private security providers, the Working Group is concerned about the lack of a consistent legal framework for their operations, especially in relation to vetting, training and oversight. While recognizing that cantonal autonomy and decentralization are fundamental parts of the Swiss political and legal landscape, the Working Group finds that the current regulatory system does not adequately ensure minimum standards for private security companies and their personnel across the country. A regulatory framework that would ensure consistent regulation of private security services for all cantons is therefore needed. The Working Group is disappointed that a parliamentary motion opening the way to federal legislation on private security services was rejected in 2019 and encourages the Government and all other relevant stakeholders to consider new initiatives that would make possible a framework that is applicable throughout the country. 86. In light of the findings elaborated above, the Working Group provides the following recommendations to the Swiss authorities: International initiatives relevant to private military and security companies 87. Continue to exercise leadership by pushing forward processes to strengthen existing international non-binding initiatives related to private military and security companies. 17