A/HRC/7/7 page 15 would be militarily armed. Recruited in their respective countries from all over the world as “private security guards” to provide protection, most of them have in fact taken part in an internal low-intensity armed conflict. These third-countries nationals are not members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict and they have not been officially sent by their respective States.43 Many individuals interviewed by the Working Group on its missions have been essentially motivated by private gain. These are all characteristics of the mercenary-related activities and modalities of the conflicts of the twenty-first century. 39. The Working Group has received information about deceptive recruitment and exploitation of nationals from developing countries to work for these PMSC in situations of violence and armed conflict such as Iraq. The Working Group is increasingly concerned at the effects of such exploitation and the resulting challenges in terms of compensation and jurisdictional uncertainties. When contractors sign their contracts they commonly waive a number of rights, including their right to seek legal recourse against the subsidiary company which has selected and contracted them, or the company which employs them “including even where loss, damage, personal injury or death is caused or contributed to any manner by the company”.44 There is also the example of thousands of Fijians who were lured into paying fees for prospective security work abroad which did not materialize. 40. In other instances, the contracts were signed under fraudulent conditions in order to avoid domestic jurisdictions, either immediately upon departure or upon arrival in the country of destination. Once performing security work in Iraq, many Chileans, Fijians, Hondurans and Peruvians have experienced contractual irregularities and poor working conditions, including excessive working hours, partial or full non-payment of salaries, ill-treatment and the neglect of basic needs such as access to medical services.45 In some instances, the insurance policies were faked or could only be enforced in the United States. There have also been reports of insurance brokers only paying immediately 30 per cent of the claims, and the rest not until an administrative tribunal compels them. In other cases where the guards had been injured they 43 This could exclude United States, British and Iraqi employees of PMSCs but not the Chileans, Colombians, Fijians, Filipinos, Hondurans, Nepali, Peruvians and others. 44 The Working Group has observed similar or related clauses in employment contracts for Chileans by the company Neskovin, registered in Uruguay and recruiting for the company Blackwater in the United States of America, and Global Guards, registered in Panama and recruiting for the company Triple Canopy in the United States. Similar practices have involved contracts for Peruvians by the company Defion, recruiting for Triple Canopy, and Hondurans contracted by the company Your Solutions also recruiting for Triple Canopy. 45 Most contractors do not provide health care for their employees, and care is not authorized at military facilities except when life is at stake. However, some routine health care has been provided to private contractors. W. Pincus, “Army Examines Possibility of Private Medical Contractor”, Washington Post, 3 September 2007.