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On May 19, 2010, GPF hosted a lunchtime discussion on Private Security Contractors and their involvement with the United Nations.
Click the read more button to listen to GPF Podcast Series: Episode 1: Private Security Contractors and the UN (May 19, 2010):
On May 19, 2010, GPF hosted a lunchtime discussion on Private Security Contractors and their involvement with the United Nations. The discussion hosted three distinguished speakers: James Cockayne (Senior Fellow and Director of New York Office, Center on Global Counter Terrorism Cooperation), Scott Horton (New York Attorney and Expert in Military and International Law), and Jeremy Scahill (Investigative journalist and Puffin Writing Fellow of the Nation Institute).In January 2010, the UN announced it would hire a British private security firm to protect its staff in Afghanistan. This contradicted past statements made by UN officials that condemned PSCs and argued against their use. As the UN's relationship with PSCs changes, some crucial questions need answering: how many private security contractors does the UN hire? What does the UN hire PSCs for? What means are being used to monitor them? And more generally, can the UN be used as a vehicle to make PSCs accountable for their actions? The Draft International Convention on the Regulation, Oversight and Monitoring Of Private Military and Security Companies has been circulating since 2009, with a UN working group prepared to announce the results of its consultations in September 2010. But even if the UN is able to ratify a convention, does it have the capacity to enforce it?Click below to listen to GPF Podcast Series: Episode 1: Private Security Contractors and the UN (May 19, 2010):
James Cockayne (part 1), James Cockayne (part 2), Scott Horton (part 3), Scott Horton (part 4), Jeremy Scahill (part 5), Jeremy Scahill (part 6)
