A/HRC/RES/21/8 Reaffirming further the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, Alarmed and concerned about the threat posed by the activities of mercenaries to peace and security in developing countries in various parts of the world, in particular in areas of conflict, Deeply concerned at the loss of life, the substantial damage to property and the negative effects on the policies and economies of affected countries resulting from international criminal mercenary activities, Extremely alarmed and concerned about recent mercenary activities in developing countries in various parts of the world, in particular in areas of conflict, and the threat they pose to the integrity of and respect for the constitutional order of the affected countries, Recalling the holding of regional consultations in all five regions from 2007 to 2011, in which participants noted that the enjoyment and exercise of human rights were increasingly impeded by the emergence of several new challenges and trends relating to mercenaries or their activities and by the role played by private military and security companies registered, operating or recruiting personnel in each region, and expressing its appreciation to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for its support for the holding of those consultations, Convinced that, notwithstanding the way in which mercenaries or mercenary-related activities are used or the form they take to acquire a semblance of legitimacy, they are a threat to peace, security and the self-determination of peoples and an obstacle to the enjoyment of human rights by peoples, 1. Reaffirms that the use of mercenaries and their recruitment, financing, protection and training are causes for grave concern to all States and violate the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; 2. Recognizes that armed conflicts, terrorism, arms trafficking and covert operations by third Powers encourage, inter alia, the demand for mercenaries on the global market; 3. Urges once again all States to take the necessary steps and to exercise the utmost vigilance against the threat posed by the activities of mercenaries, and to take legislative measures to ensure that their territories and other territories under their control, as well as their nationals, are not used for the recruitment, assembly, financing, training, protection and transit of mercenaries for the planning of activities designed to impede the right to self-determination, to overthrow the Government of any State or to dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the right of peoples to selfdetermination; 4. Requests all States to exercise the utmost vigilance against any kind of recruitment, training, hiring or financing of mercenaries by private companies offering international military consultancy and security services, and to impose a specific ban on such companies intervening in armed conflicts or actions to destabilize constitutional regimes; 5. Encourages States that import the military assistance, consultancy and security services provided by private companies to establish regulatory national mechanisms for the registering and licensing of those companies in order to ensure that imported services provided by those private companies neither impede the enjoyment of human rights nor violate human rights in the recipient country; 2