Photo credit: UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz, “Security Council Ministerial Meeting on Foreign Terrorist Fighters,” May 29, 2015.

PILAC Director Naz Modirzadeh took part in the second session. Her presentation begins around 1hr:53m:05s into the video.

Panel Event on Foreign Fighters

Convened by the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries

Thursday, 23 July 2015, 10:00-13:00

Conference Room 3, Conference Building

United Nations Headquarters

New York

The Working Group on the use of mercenaries is mandated by the Human Rights Council to monitor mercenaries and mercenary related activities and identify sources and causes, emerging issues and manifestations relating to mercenarism. In this regard, it will examine the issue of foreign fighters as the subject of its report to the General Assembly this year. The Working Group will explore the linkages between these two phenomena and their impacts on human rights, particularly the right to self-determination.

Panel Topics 

Session 1: Motivation and Recruitment Practices

  • Motivational factors for foreign fighters: purely ideological?
  • Recruitment practices

Session 2: Foreign fighters in armed conflict: human rights and humanitarian law implications

  • Human rights impact of foreign fighters including the right to self-determination
  • Human rights implications of foreign fighter laws and policies
  • Foreign fighters under international humanitarian law
  • Addressing the foreign fighter phenomenon from a human rights perspective