A/HRC/45/9/Add.1 Annex Report 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 on its visit to Switzerland I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/4,1 the Working Group conducted an official visit to Switzerland from 13 to 17 May 2019, at the invitation of the Government. The Working Group was represented by three of its members: Jelena Aparac, Lilian Bobea and Sorcha MacLeod. They were accompanied by staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2. During the visit, the Working Group held meetings in Bern with representatives of the executive, legislative and judicial branches at the federal level. The delegation met with officials representing different divisions within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Armed Forces Attorney General, federal prosecutors of the Office of the Attorney General, and representatives of the Federal Office of Justice. The delegation also met with an official of the State Secretariat for Migration, which facilitated a visit to the Federal Asylum Centre of Kappelen in the Canton of Bern. 3. At the cantonal level, the delegation held meetings with the Conference of Cantonal Departments of Justice and Police, senior representatives of the Cantons of Geneva and Zurich, including officials from the respective cantonal police services, and the Justice and Public Security Committee of the cantonal parliament of Zurich. In Neuchatel, the Working Group met the Commission of the Concordat on Private Security Companies of the Frenchspeaking Cantons. 4. The Working Group wishes to thank the Swiss authorities at the federal and cantonal levels for the excellent cooperation that they extended prior to, during and after the visit. The delegation met and held open and frank discussions with State representatives on the challenges faced and lessons learned. 5. The delegation was also grateful for the rich and varied discussions during meetings with non-governmental stakeholders. These included a member of the National Council; representatives of non-governmental organizations, trade unions, and an industry association; individuals working for companies providing private military and security services or for companies whose operations depend heavily on private security; and a multistakeholder initiative on private military and security companies. II. Background and context of the visit 6. The purpose of the visit was to study the human rights impact of mercenaries and mercenary-related activities on the one hand, and of the activities of private military and security companies on the other hand. With regard to mercenaries, Switzerland is known for its historic mercenary tradition that was abandoned in the nineteenth century, with the institutionalization of neutrality as a principle of Swiss foreign policy which remains in place today. The Pontifical Swiss Guard, however, is allowed to operate as the official security force of Vatican City. Nevertheless, similarly to other European countries, the question of its nationals joining foreign military entities re-emerged recently through the phenomenon of foreign fighters, which the Working Group has defined as a mercenary- 1 2 In September 2019, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 42/9 renewing the mandate of the Working Group for a further three years.