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<p>The UK government notes Article 47 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions,
of which the UK is a party, which sets out the definition of a mercenary. There is
no licensing system or permission process in UK law for a UK citizen who intends to
act as a mercenary to follow. UK law focusses on the activities of UK citizens abroad,
which may be prosecuted in the UK where UK law makes such provision. For example,
under the International Criminal Courts Acts of 2001, UK courts have jurisdiction
to prosecute acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by
UK nationals either inside or outside of the United Kingdom, and offences of murder
committed outside the jurisdiction may be prosecuted in the UK. Additionally, the
direct or indirect provision of armed personnel, where it enables or facilitates the
conduct of armed hostilities, may constitute an offence under UK sanctions regimes.
This legislation enables the UK to prosecute a UK citizen accused of committing such
crimes overseas as a mercenary or whilst working for a private security company.</p><p>We
draw a clear distinction between mercenaries and private security companies (PSCs).
We promote high standards for PSCs internationally through voluntary regulation of
the sector and played a leading role in the drafting of the International Code of
Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (2010), which sets out principles for
security providers, and related standards, governance, and oversight mechanisms, and
the launch of its oversight mechanism to monitor compliance with the Code, the International
Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) (2013).</p><p>Members of UK Armed Forces regularly
undertake training and engage in exercises with a wide range of international partners
in that professional capacity, where this best supports the development of UK military
capability, contributes to the development of international defence relationships
and supports wider government objectives.</p>
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