[swaghauler]

There seems to be some confusion about the term Private Military Contractor here. A PMC is a private (non-militarily conscripted) person EMPLOYED by a government agency. They are not "legally" a "Mercenary" as one is defined in the UN Convention Against the Use, Recruitment, Financing, and Training of Mercenaries. This is because they are considered "support personnel" of a given agency or military. This is also why they are NOT subject to the laws of the host country (in the same way Military & Diplomatic personnel are also not subject to a host country's laws). They are bound by the laws of the country who is employing them (in other words, Blackwater's misdeeds are tried in US Courts NOT Iraq's). This is to prevent the host country from using THEIR judicial system to punish PMCs for behavior that might not be viewed as "criminal" by the employing country.

There is a second class of individual (which I have performed as) that is also NOT a "Mercenary" even though they may be armed on occasion. The "Security Contractor" is a specific exemption in the UN covering what are essentially "Protective Specialists." A "Protective Specialist" is a security guard or bodyguard who is protecting either a person or property and is properly registered with the host country. They may or may not be armed according to the host country's own laws. A Protective Specialist or Security Contractor IS SUBJECT to the host country's laws so they must be very careful when operating inside a host country.

The next class of armed individual you may encounter in a country is the "Peacekeeper." "Peacekeepers" are always vetted by the UN and may be deployed by the UN or another country on behalf of the UN. They are euphemistically called "blue hats" because they are often issued blue US M1 helmets with the letters UN in white on the sides. "Blue hats" may be civilian LE or ex-military but are all recruited by the UN itself. I had a coworker who served with the UN peacekeepers in East Timor. He was issued a .38 S&W Model 10 with 2 speedloaders and assigned a town to patrol in order to prevent Muslim terrorists with AKs from killing Christians. He was lucky because he was near ANZAC forces but others who signed up for the 18-month tour were not so lucky. He would tell you that UN support of its "peacekeepers" leaves MUCH to be desired.

Finally, we address what is the UN's concept of the "Mercenary." "Mercenaries" are individuals who specifically come to fight a war against or for the "host country." The US military personnel who went back to Iraq to fight alongside the Kurds against DASH (ISIS) would be classified as "Mercenaries" under the UN's Convention on Mercenaries.