“From antiquity to the medieval era to the present-day, those who fight for financial reward or other material compensation have been a near constant on the battlefield”, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Council, noting that the shadowy nature of mercenary activities has evolved over the years.

“Today they are exploiting and feeding off other ills such as transnational organized crime, terrorism and violent extremism”, he told the meeting, which was convened by Equatorial Guinea, which holds the Council’s presidency for the month.

Their activities in Africa require “work across the spectrum”, Mr. Guterres stated, “from prevention to prosecution, and from mitigating the impacts of mercenary activities to addressing the root causes that give rise to them”.

He zeroed-in on mercenary activities in the Sahel, Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and emphasized specific actions needed to resist their scourge, including strengthening legal regimes and frameworks.

Mr. Guterres vowed that the UN Regional Office for Central Africa and the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa would continue to help advance the African Union’s ‘Silencing the guns by 2020’ agenda.

He pointed to the importance of cooperation, such as mixed border commissions, joint border security monitoring mechanisms and intelligence-sharing between national defense forces, highlighting as “vital”, strategic partnership between the UN, African Union (AU), Economic Community of Central Africa States and region countries.

He also said it was critical to create opportunities for youth to reduce “the lure of mercenaries and the threat of radicalization” – underscoring that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can help with this and more.

He concluded with the UN’s promise of continued support in “tackling mercenary activities”.

African Union Commission Chair calls for bolstered international support to tackle scourge

Speaking via teleconference from Addis Ababa, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, recalled since the 1960s, the continent’s history has been “punctuated by the of involvement of mercenaries in activities of destabilization, including coups, interventions in armed conflicts and attempts to seize control of natural resources in the countries concerned” – endangering the harmonious development of African States.

While efforts have been made over the years to combat the scourge, mercenaries persist.

UN Photo/Cia Pak Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and President of the Security Council for the month of February, chairs the Council meeting on threats to international peace and security.

“It is clear that we have to strengthen international instruments as they relate to this phenomenon”, he maintained.

Moreover, Mr. Faki Mahamat said he “could not stress enough” the need for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in countries emerging from conflict.

He concluded by calling for “increased international support”.