Image of The impact the mercenary activities on the right of peoples to self-determination fact sheet no. 28

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The impact the mercenary activities on the right of peoples to self-determination fact sheet no. 28

Mercenaries are not a new phenomenon but have existed in a variety of forms from time immemorial. Their image has not always been as inglorious as that emerging from recent statements by the international community, not just because of a change in public or international opinion and the proscription of war-making by the Charter of the United Nations, but also because they have diversified into what may be characterized as criminal activities. Changes in attitudes to mercenaries have tended to coincide broadly with changes in forms of governance and social organization and with the principles governing relations between sovereign powers. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the armies of princes engaged in wars of defence or conquest were commonly composed of or included a complement of hired fighters. With the rise of monarchic rule in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, kings and noblemen relied on mercenaries to consolidate the State. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the advent of nationalism led to the formation of citizen armies and hence a decline in the need for mercenaries. Moreover, under the emerging law of neutrality, a State that was unwilling to become embroiled in conflicts among other States had a duty to discourage its nationals from assisting any of the belligerents. As a result, mercenary activities began to be frowned upon, an attitude reinforced by the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, which made the waging of war unlawful

Availability
KP.1.000139KP.1 INT iMy LibraryAvailable
Detail Information
Series Title
World Campaign for Human Rights
Call Number
KP.1 INT i
Publisher
Jenewa : United Nations.,
Collation
40p. ; 21cm.
Language
English
ISBN/ISSN
10145567
Classification
KP.1
Content Type
-
Media Type
-
Carrier Type
-
Edition
-
Subject(s)
Human rights
Specific Detail Info
-
Statement of Responsibility
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