http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/mercenaries.htmAdopted and opened for signature and ratification by General Assembly resolution 44/34 of 4 December 1989
Entry into force: 20 October 2001, in accordance with article 19
The States Parties to the present Convention ,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
Being aware of the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries for activities which violate principles of international law, such as those of sovereign equality, political independence, territorial integrity of States and self-determination of peoples,
Affirming that the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries should be considered as offences of grave concern to all States and that any person committing any of these offences should be either prosecuted or extradited,
Convinced of the necessity to develop and enhance international co-operation among States for the prevention, prosecution and punishment of such offences,
Expressing concern at new unlawful international activities linking drug traffickers and mercenaries in the perpetration of violent actions which undermine the constitutional order of States,
Also convinced that the adoption of a convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries would contribute to the eradication of these nefarious activities and thereby to the observance of the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter,
Cognizant that matters not regulated by such a convention continue to be governed by the rules and principles of international law,
Have agreed as follows :
Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention,
1. A mercenary is any person who:
( a ) Is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
( b ) Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar rank and functions in the armed forces of that party;
( c ) Is neither a national of a party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a party to the conflict;
( d ) Is not a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict; and
( e ) Has not been sent by a State which is not a party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
2. A mercenary is also any person who, in any other situation:
( a ) Is specially recruited locally or abroad for the purpose of participating in a concerted act of violence aimed at :
(i) Overthrowing a Government or otherwise undermining the constitutional order of a State; or
(ii) Undermining the territorial integrity of a State;
( b ) Is motivated to take part therein essentially by the desire for significant private gain and is prompted by the promise or payment of material compensation;
( c ) Is neither a national nor a resident of the State against which such an act is directed;
( d ) Has not been sent by a State on official duty; and
( e ) Is not a member of the armed forces of the State on whose territory the act is undertaken.
Article 2
Any person who recruits, uses, finances or trains mercenaries, as defined in article 1 of the present Convention, commits an offence for the purposes of the Convention.
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