Mercenaries may be peace-keeping force, says Straw

The prospect of mercenaries being used for United Nations peace-keeping missions was raised by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, yesterday when he unveiled proposals for regulating private military companies.

In a long-awaited Green Paper on the issue, Mr Straw highlighted the possibility that licensed mercenaries could be cheaper and deployed more rapidly than national armies in troublespots around the globe.

The Foreign Office document listed a number of options for tighter control of British mercenaries, ranging from an outright ban to a voluntary code of conduct.

The favoured government option is understood to be a US-style licensing scheme, which would require companies to register on a list of approved firms as well as obtain a licence for each contract they secured.

But Mr Straw's most controversial comments came in the foreword to the Green Paper, where he predicted that the demand for private military services was likely to increase in the next few years.

"A strong and reputable private military sector might have a role in enabling the UN to respond more rapidly and more effectively in crises. The cost of employing companies for certain functions in UN operations could be much lower than that of national armed forces," he said.

Mr Straw added that there would be "many pitfalls" that would need to be considered carefully before such a move could go ahead, particularly the human rights record, sovereignty and accountability of such forces.

In raising the idea, the Foreign Secretary reflected concern among some Western nations that persuading countries to provide well-trained and equipped troops for peace-keeping operations was proving increasingly difficult. The UN employs commercial firms for logistics and security support in limited circumstances but has never used mercenaries in its operations.

One senior Whitehall source said the idea sounded like "privatisation of the battlefield" and would raise concerns within the armed forces.

Menzies Campbell, foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said the proposal would need safeguards to make it work.

"There's no doubt that the UN has suffered grievously in the past because of the inadequate quality of some of the troops offered to it for deployment in difficult and dangerous situations," he said. "But there are considerable question marks about this suggestion, not least the issue of allegiance and chain of command. There would inevitably be human rights questions as well."