The Wagner Group is a private military contractor (PMC) that does not officially exist but enjoys the implicit support of the Russian government. The Group has taken part in many conflicts around the world including Syria and Libya, as well as many African conflicts (1). This article focuses on the Group’s involvement in the latter; in particular, its targeting on the civilian population and related Russian interests.
According to OHCHR, the Wagner Group is perpetrating systemic and grave humanitarian abuses as well as severe breaches of international humanitarian law including arbitrary detention, tortures, summary executions, forced disappearances, and other violations ceaselessly and unhesitatingly (2). Moreover, its mercenaries have engaged in sexual exploitation abuses against women and young girls in the contexts where they have intervened. Its activities are purposely occulted and the Group sides with the belligerent that is able to offer the highest remuneration, regardless of the reasons for the conflict and regardless of the faction they side with: be it regular governmental armed forces or irregular forces (3).
As a matter of facts, in recent conflicts in which Wagner’s has intervened, namely the conflict in Central African Republic – CAR – and Mali, it has perpetrated serious human rights abuses targeting civilians and predominantly acting independently from the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) given their silenced consent and acting alongside State forces in the Malian conflict (1). Wagner is being used as a proxy in order to target civilians: according to the Institute for Securities Studies, in CAR and Mali, Wagner has provoked more deadly attacks carried out against the civilian population than State forces themselves or the rebel groups (4). CAR’s President, however, has always denied his involvement with the private military company in that Western’s support is still fundamental for the country; nevertheless, following a military coup, the Malian government is not concerned with allegations coming from the international community and the United Nations which strongly condemn abuses on civilians and the use of mercenaries.
The fact is that, as specified, the Wagner Group receives remuneration in return for its involvement in conflicts around the globe, in this case in the African continent and, in fact, on behalf of Moscow’s government. These remunerations not always are in the form of monetary compensation, but often are in the form of concessions for the exploitation of natural resources of which the countries of intervention are rich. As a matter of facts, coinciding with the PMC arrival in CAR, Wagner’s headman’s façade company received concessions on diamond and gold mines exploitation in the country.
Seeing Africa as one of its foreign policy priorities, Russia’s government’s goal is to make African countries dependent on Russian military resources by accessing natural resources. By having the Wagner Group intervene in countries with fragile governments but who are often rich in important and lootable raw materials, such as oil, gold, diamonds, uranium, and manganese, by providing training and teaching counterinsurgency and counterterrorism tactics to its forces (be it regular or irregular, depending on where interests at stake lie), Russia, through the PMC here mentioned, secures the support of African countries, as well as assured monetary revenues both through the sale of armaments to these countries and through these countries concessions’ for the exploitation of natural resources situated in their territories (5).
In other States in which the Wagner Group has intervened, Russia has in facts received concessions in return. As a matter of facts, when Sudanese ex-President Omar Al-Bashir was still holding power, the Group intervened to help in suppressing popular protests that later brought to the fall of Al-Bashir in 2019 trough a military coup. In return, the Group’s founder, received concession for the exclusive exploiting of golden mines in the country and Moscow was given a naval base in the Red Sea. In Libya, given NATO’s involvement, Wagner sided with Haftar during his attack on the country’s capital and contributed to causing severe violence against civilians by mining areas in which the population lived in order to help Haftar in obtaining control of oil rigs. Moreover, the Group intervened in Mozambique where it sided with the government against the Al-Shabab insurgency but failed in haltering it. As mentioned, Mali is the last country in which the Wagner Group has intervened, be its alleged arrival in December 2021 (5).
The question concerns how to undermine Wagner Group’s power and engagement in contexts of conflict, not only in Africa but elsewhere as well. First and foremost, International Organizations should be more influent in averting the use of mercenaries, for example by rendering more effective the UN Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, adopted in 1989 with UNGA/RES/44/34 (6). Ultimately, gross violations carried out by PMC mercenaries should be brought to light in order to unleash an international reaction aimed at enforcing the application of the sanctions mentioned in the 1989 Convention. In doing so, the Group’s connection with the Russian government should be highlighted (7).
References:
3) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/world/africa/wagner-group-africa.html
4) https://issafrica.org/iss-today/wagner-is-being-used-in-africa-as-a-proxy-to-target-civilians
7) https://russianpmcs.csis.org
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
