A/HRC/21/43 I. Introduction 1. In the present report, 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 selfdetermination describes its activities since its previous report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/18/32). The thematic section of the report is a comparative analysis of three approaches to national legislation that identifies common elements and challenges in the regulation of private military and security companies. 2. The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 2005/2 of the Commission on Human Rights, in which the Commission established the mandate of the Working Group, Human Rights Council resolutions 7/21 and 15/12, in which the Council extended that mandate, and 18/4. 3. The Working Group comprises five independent experts serving in their personal capacities: Patricia Arias (Chile), Elzbieta Karska (Poland), Anton Katz (South Africa), Faiza Patel (Pakistan) and Gabor Rona (United States of America). In October 2011, the Working Group decided that Ms. Patel would act as Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group until December 2012. II. Activities of the Working Group 4. In accordance with its usual practice, the Working Group held three regular sessions: two in Geneva and one in New York. It held regular meetings with representatives of Member States, non-governmental organizations and experts. It also reviewed allegations regarding the activities of mercenaries and private military and security companies and their impact on human rights, and decided on appropriate action. A. Thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth sessions of the Working Group 5. The thirteenth session of the Working Group took place in New York from 5 to 8 July 2011. It included an expert seminar to discuss the content and status of the State monopoly on the legitimate use of force and possible implications for the regulation of private military and security companies. The Working Group is grateful to the 10 experts 1 who contributed to this endeavour. On 8 July 2011, the Working Group held a press conference to discuss issues relating to its mandate. 6. The fourteenth session took place in Geneva from 24 to 28 October 2011. It included consultations with representatives of Member States, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross and nongovernmental organizations. This was the first meeting of the five new members of the Working Group after the members appointed at the establishment of the Working Group completed their mandates in August and October 2011. After considering several country 1 Alexander Volevodz, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russian Federation; René Värk, Faculty of Law, University of Tartu, Estonia and Estonian National Defence College; Mark Ungar, City University of New York, United States; Helena Torroja Mateu, University of Barcelona, Spain; Sarah Percy, University of Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Pratap Chatterjee, Center for American Progress, United States; Irene Cabrera, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogota; Sabelo Gumedze, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria; Patricia Arias, Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo, Chile; Deborah Avant, University of California, Irvine, United States. 3