A/HRC/42/36 I. Introduction 1. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 36/11, decided to establish, for a period of three years, an open-ended intergovernmental working group with the mandate to elaborate the content of an international regulatory framework, without prejudging the nature thereof, to protect human rights and ensure accountability for violations and abuses relating to the activities of private military and security companies, to be informed by the discussion document on elements for an international regulatory framework on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies (A/HRC/36/36, para. 10), as prepared by the Chair-Rapporteur, and further inputs from Member States and other stakeholders. 2. The present working group succeeds the open-ended intergovernmental working group established by the Council in its resolution 15/26 to consider the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory framework on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies. The mandate of that working group was renewed twice, once in resolution 22/33 and a second time in resolution 28/7. Under the former mandate, the working group held six sessions between 2011 and 2017.1 3. The first session of the present working group, 2 held from 20 to 23 May 2019, was opened by the Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She noted the importance of building on the conclusions and recommendations of the former working group to identify the means for more efficiently preventing human rights abuses relating to the activities of private military and security companies; to more effectively protect and ensure access to justice and remedies for victims of such abuses; and to strengthen accountability for perpetrators of abuse, something that to date had been largely elusive across the world. 4. The Deputy High Commissioner commended the leadership provided thus far by the Chair-Rapporteur for the next phase of the work, and noted that the discussions during the six sessions of the previous working group had provided a solid basis on which to anchor the present working group’s future efforts towards the elaboration of a draft regulatory framework for the activities of private military and security companies. II. Organization of the session A. Election of the Chair-Rapporteur 5. At its 1st meeting, held on 20 May 2019, the working group elected by acclamation the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko, as its Chair-Rapporteur. The working group then adopted the provisional agenda (A/HRC/WG.17/1/Rev.1) and programme of work. B. Attendance 6. Representatives of the following States were present at the first session: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Italy, Japan, 1 2 2 All relevant information and documents concerning the six sessions of the former intergovernmental working group can be found at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/WGMilitary/Pages/ OEIWGMilitaryIndex.aspx. All relevant information and documents concerning the first session of the new intergovernmental working group, including the text of oral statements, can be found at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/ HRC/WGMilitary/Pages/IGWG.aspx.