UN Panel Wants Iraq to Address Military Contractor Immunity

With the role of security contractors set to increase in Iraq, UN experts want the Iraqi government to settle their legal status once and for all.

Contractor numbers are expected to grow once American troops leave the country at the end of the year. Faiza Patel, head of the UN working group on the use of mercenaries, was at the UN today to present the group’s latest report. 

Patel says the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square allegedly carried out by Blackwater security guards, highlighted the legal challenges in holding private security companies accountable for crimes and rights abuses.

“Due to the coalition’s provisional authority grant of immunity to contractors, the alleged Blackwater perpetrators could not be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. “ she told reporters “Prosecution in the United States, the home country of Blackwater, now known as Xe, has also not yet produced satisfactory results. Four years after the incident, the criminal case against the Blackwater guards is still pending in US courts.”

In 2009,  the Iraq-US Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) ended the legal immunity for certain types of contractors. Patel says that while SOFA was an improvement, it was also unclear about which “category” of military contractors were exempt from prosecution in Iraq. 

But with US troops scheduled to withdraw from the country before the end of the year and SOFA no longer expected to be enforced, Patel says the immunity question needs to be addressed.

 “The status of foreign contractors in Iraq is quite unclear and this is a matter to which the working group believes the Iraqi government should pay urgent attention.”

The Obama administration decided to withdraw all US troops when it could not get an agreement on legal immunity from the Iraq government. But that decision will probably push the State department to rely on private security companies, so immunity will continue to be an issue.