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Mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protections by rules of war than non-mercenaries. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of the armed forces. In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. Modern mercenary organizations are generally referred to as private military companies or PMCs. Laws of war Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Mann
Simon Francis Mann (born 26 June 1952) is a British mercenary and former officer in the SAS. He trained to be an officer at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Scots Guards. He later became a member of the SAS. On leaving the military, he co-founded Sandline International with fellow ex-Scots Guards Colonel Tim Spicer in 1996. Sandline operated mostly in Angola and Sierra Leone, but a contract with the government of Papua New Guinea attracted a significant amount of negative publicity in what became known as the Sandline affair. On 7 March 2004, Mann is alleged to have led the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt. He was arrested by Zimbabwean police in Harare airport along with 64 other mercenaries. He eventually served three years of a four-year prison sentence in Zimbabwe, and less than two years of a 34 years and four months sentence in Equatorial Guinea. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unlawful Combatant
An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war and therefore is claimed not to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross points out that the terms "unlawful combatant", "illegal combatant" or "unprivileged combatant/belligerent" are not defined in any international agreements. While the concept of an unlawful combatant is included in the Third Geneva Convention, the phrase itself does not appear in the document. Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention does describe categories under which a person may be entitled to prisoner of war status. There are other international treaties that deny lawful combatant status for mercenaries and children. The Geneva Conventions apply in wars between two or more sovereign states. They do not recognize any status of lawfulness for combatants in conflicts not involving two or more nation st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations Mercenary Convention
The United Nations Mercenary Convention, officially the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, is a 2001 United Nations treaty that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of mercenaries. At the 72nd plenary meeting on 4 December 1989, the United Nations General Assembly concluded the convention as its resolution 44/34. The convention entered into force on 20 October 2001International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention �� and has been ratified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combatant
Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It states that "Members of the armed forces of a Party to a conflict (other than medical personnel and chaplains covered by Article 33 of the Third Convention) are combatants, that is to say, they have the right to participate directly in hostilities." Consequently, on the other hand combatants, as a rule, are legal targets themselves for the opposite side regardless the specific circumstances at hand, in other words, they can be attacked regardless of the specific circumstances simply due to their status, so as to deprive their side of their support. In addition to having the right to participate in hostilities, combatants have the right to the status of prisoners of war when captured during an international armed conflict. "While all comb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combatants
Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It states that "Members of the armed forces of a Party to a conflict (other than medical personnel and chaplains covered by Article 33 of the Third Convention) are combatants, that is to say, they have the right to participate directly in hostilities." Consequently, on the other hand combatants, as a rule, are legal targets themselves for the opposite side regardless the specific circumstances at hand, in other words, they can be attacked regardless of the specific circumstances simply due to their status, so as to deprive their side of their support. In addition to having the right to participate in hostilities, combatants have the right to the status of prisoners of war when captured during an international armed conflict. "While all comb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Military Company
A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military contractors"; they are also referred to by academics and the press as mercenaries. The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental security, military, or police forces but most often on a smaller scale. PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in service of governments, but they can also be employed by private companies to provide bodyguards for key staff or protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. However, contractors that use armed force in a warzone may be considered unlawful combatants in reference to a concept that is outlined in the Geneva Conventions and explicitly stated by the 2006 American Military Commissions Act. The service ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Enlistment Act 1870
The Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 90) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to regulate mercenary activities of British citizens. It received royal assent on 9 August 1870. Background There was no common law prohibition on enlistment in foreign militaries, and mercenary services predated the development of professional armies.Tyler WentzellMercenaries and Adventurers: Canada and the Foreign Enlistment Act in the Nineteenth Century ''Canadian Military History'' vol. 23, no. 2 (2014). The Foreign Enlistment Act 1819, 59 Geo. 3 c. 69 (long title "An Act to Prevent the Enlisting or Engagement of His Majesty’s Subjects to Serve in Foreign Service, and the Fitting out or Equipping, in his Majesty's Dominions, Vessels for Warlike Purposes Without His Majesty's License") was passed by in 1819. The law was passed to uphold British neutrality in the Spanish American wars of independence and made it a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment for Bri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Thatcher
Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His early career in business led to suggestions that he was benefiting from his mother's position, notably in relation to the Al-Yamamah arms deal. He left the UK in 1986, and has since lived in the United States, Switzerland, Monaco, South Africa, Gibraltar, Barbados, Guernsey, and Spain. In 2004 the ''Sunday Times'' estimated his wealth at £60 million, most of which was suggested to be in offshore accounts. In 2005, he was convicted and given a four-year suspended prison sentence and fined in South Africa for funding the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt. He has two children by his first wife, Diane Burgdorf. He married his second wife, Sarah-Jane Russell (''née'' Clemence), in 2008. After his father's death in 2003, he became Sir Mark That ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's militar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protocol I
Protocol I (sometimes referred to as Additional Protocol I or AP 1) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of ''international conflicts'', extending to "armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation or racist regimes" are to be considered international conflicts. It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern international warfare that have taken place since the Second World War. Ratification status As of February 2020, it had been ratified by 174 states, with the United States, Israel, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Turkey being notable exceptions. However, the United States, Iran, and Pakistan signed it on 12 December 1977, which signifies an intention to work towards ratifying it. The Iranian Revolution has occurred in the interim. Russia On 16 October 2019, P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek War Of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by the British Empire, Bourbon Restoration in France, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals, particularly the eyalet of Egypt Eyalet, Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece. The revolution is Celebration of the Greek Revolution, celebrated by Greeks around the world as Greek Independence Day, independence day on 25 March. Greece, with the exception of the Ionian Islands, came under Ottoman rule in the 15th century, in the decades before and after the fall of Constantinople. During the following centuries, there were sporadic but unsuccessful Ottoman Greece#Uprisings before 1821, Greek uprisings against Ottoman rule. In 1814, a secret organization called Filiki Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was established in London in 1851 by the German-born Paul Reuter. It was acquired by the Thomson Corporation of Canada in 2008 and now makes up the media division of Thomson Reuters. History 19th century Paul Reuter worked at a book-publishing firm in Berlin and was involved in distributing radical pamphlets at the beginning of the Revolutions in 1848. These publications brought much attention to Reuter, who in 1850 developed a prototype news service in Aachen using homing pigeons and electric telegraphy from 1851 on, in order to transmit messages between Brussels and Aachen, in what today is Aachen's Reuters House. Reuter moved to London in 1851 and established a news wire agency at the London Royal Exchange. Headquartered in London, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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