Symposium – The Business of Security: New Frontiers and Persistent Challenges in Regulating PMSCs

14.07.2025 ( Last modified: 22.07.2025 )

From July 14 to 18, 2025, TRIAL International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), REDRESS and the Global Survivors Fund (GSF), in collaboration with Opinio Juris, is hosting a symposium examining the expanding scope of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs), assessing existing regulatory frameworks, and discussing how international law must evolve to ensure their accountability.

While the new regulatory legal instrument struggles to take off, the employment of PMSCs is on the rise, including in new fields, such as the digital domain, the distribution of humanitarian aid, weapons procurement and transfer, or the management of natural resources extraction sites. The persistent failure to hold PMSCs and their personnel accountable for violations -despite well-documented abuses, including in conflict zones-  reveals deep-rooted weaknesses in the international system.

As UN negotiations toward a new legal instrument continue, this symposium offers a timely moment to reflect on existing gaps and to advocate for a strong, binding framework that places victims’ rights and accountability at its core.