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17. From its consultations with the interim Government, the Working Group noted that the interim Prime Minister registered concern as to whether former Fijian soldiers now working for PMSCs in Iraq would be considered “mercenaries”. The interim Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that the individuals who had left had not been contracted by States but had left in their individual and private capacity on the basis of casual agreements between parties. A representative of the Royal Fiji Military Forces noted that body’s concerns in terms of image, namely, that this unregulated activity could tarnish the reputation of the Fijian military, built inter alia on its contributions to peacekeeping operations worldwide.
18. The Working Group delegation was provided by the Ministry of Labour with a copy of a letter dated 1 February 2005, which the Ministry had addressed to the Secretary-General of the Parliament and which annexed “a list of the recruitment agencies and their offshore counterparts with their addresses. The list also gives relevant information such as occupations with rates of pay and the current number of Fiji nationals in Kuwait and Iraq”.
19. The document states that, as of early 2005, 838 Fijians were employed in Iraq and Kuwait, by four private military and security companies: (i) 358 employed by Public Warehousing Co. (Kuwait), through its local agent the Meridian Services (Fiji); (ii) 220 employed by Global Risks Strategies, through its local agent Global Risks Strategies (Fiji) Ltd; (iii) 160 employed by Armor Group Services Ltd (U.K.), with local agent Homeland Security Services Ltd (Fiji); and (iv) 100 employed by Triple Canopy Inc. (USA), with local agent Triple Canopy (Fiji). According to this document, all employees were provided with insurance and allowances and were guaranteed repatriation, while the Meridian recruits would have to cover 50 per cent of their own costs.
20. The Ministry of Labour also provided the Working Group delegation with updated documentation listing the employment status of Fijians and other details of five private military and security companies as of January 2006: (i) 250 were employed by Public Warehousing Co. (Kuwait); (ii) 250 were employed by Global Risks Strategies (Iraq); (iii) 181 were employed by Armor Group Services Ltd (Iraq); (iv) 62 were employed by Control Risks Group (Iraq); and (v) 73 were employed by Triple Canopy Inc. (Iraq). One particular item on this document was “Issues of Concern from Recruitment Process”, which states that 200 were recruited but unemployed in Kuwait and that 14,550 had been recruited in Fiji without available contracts in Kuwait. It also noted that Global Risk Strategies (Iraq) has experienced a total of four fatalities; two in action and two by natural causes.
21. The Working Group also obtained in the course of its visit to Fiji copies of a number of employment contracts between private military and security companies and individuals. Notably, these contracts consistently included a governmental stamp by the Divisional Labour Officer Central in Suva. This was the case, for example, with contracts of PWC Logistics in Kuwait, which were also stamped by the Meridian Services Agency Suva in Fiji. These particular job offer letters listed a basic salary of KD 400 per month as a “squad leader”, as compared with KD 175 per month as a “trailor driver”.
22. Having also consulted with senior members of the former Government in Fiji, the Working Group noted both the position of the former Prime Minister - that the Government had nothing to do with these recruitments - and the emphasis placed on the private nature of the arrangements between the PMSCs and individual Fijians. The Working Group was informed that as a policy, the Government did not stop anyone from going abroad for work and imposed no restrictions. At the same time, the Government was concerned to ensure proper contracts and insurance and adequately executed travel arrangements, with the Ministry of Labour in charge of oversight.
23. The former Minister of Labour provided some information on a “particularly disappointing case” concerning the company Meredian Services in Fiji which had received much media coverage. The director of this company allegedly promised to give work to some 15,000 to 20,000 people in the Middle East, notably in Kuwait. The company requested 150 Fiji dollars in advance to secure employment and is estimated to have collected some 5 million Fiji dollars. The Acting Chief Justice informed the Working Group that many persons in Fiji borrowed money from their villages and obtained passport and adequate clothing only to realize that the offer was a fraud. However, while some 400 recruited Fijians were sent in a first batch, allegedly only some 200 actually obtained work.
24. The Working Group is concerned by the fact that this company was not registered with the authorities and by the lack of oversight by the Ministry of Labour or any other State organ. The Acting Police Commissioner informed the Working Group that investigations were conducted when some of those enlisted gave evidence. The Ministry of Labour was concerned that it was neither involved nor informed, and requested the judicial police to investigate despite the fact that it had not received complaints at the time. However, the Acting Police Commissioner observed that as the case featured no criminal element, merely elements of fraud, and was considered as “private dealing”, it was filed.
25. The Working Group is also concerned by the initial statements and positions of the Government in 2005, when the Minister of Labour stated:
“The Government knows that more men are leaving for Kuwait and Iraq and it is a good thing, because it is providing employment for the unemployed. This is one solution to the increasing unemployment rate in the country today.”[11]
26. The Working Group learned that the then Minister of Labour visited Kuwait in 2005, stating that his Ministry supported workers travelling to Iraq and Kuwait, urging “coverage of insurance for work-related injuries and deaths, to be arranged by the employing companies and that is a mandatory part for the contracts which are attested by my ministry”.[12] The former Minister informed the Working Group that it was the number of complaints that prompted him to go to Kuwait, where he held a large meeting with some 150 to 200 Fijians, at which he learned that only half of them had jobs. He informed the Working Group that a number of Fijians had complained about not finding a job (and that some had resorted to criminal activities). He also referred to their experiences of non-fulfilment of payment and lack of insurance and reported that representatives of PMSCs allegedly confiscated their passports so they would not change over to another company.
27. The former Minister of Labour also informed the Working Group that he had visited the headquarters of PMSCs in the United States of America and in the United Kingdom, and that he “went to ensure that employment could continue, increase numbers, respect insurance and conditions”. While noting his support for enhanced regulation in Fiji, he also referred to the unemployment rates in Fiji, noting that if overly strict conditions were imposed, PMSCs would recruit from countries such as Nepal and Tonga.
28. The Working Group takes note of a later, adjusted position of a subsequent Minister for Labour, who in 2006 called for people intending to work in Iraq to check with his ministry before signing any contract, stating the following: “We want to ensure that the recruitment operation is within the law. And if it is so, then we cannot stop people from seeking employment. But the Ministry should be able to study the contract of employment first.”[13]
29. The Working Group also noted the information from representatives of the Royal Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) on the significant role that RFMF soldiers played in United Nations peacekeeping operations and in the Army of the United Kingdom.[14] It also recognized that some serving members of the armed forces had resigned in order to work with private companies, including senior military personnel discharged for that purpose. The Working Group also received information from an RFMF representative that three former Ministers were currently running PMSCs, which could indicate a symbiotic relationship and a troubling “revolving-door” syndrome between political leaders and PMSCs, a situation observed by the Working Group in other contexts as well.
30. The Working Group takes note of statements by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the effect that the Government may not wish to discourage persons from working in the field of security abroad, due to unemployment conditions in Fiji and the amount of remittances which these individuals can send to their families, who often live in rural areas of the country. The Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF) has opposed the recruitment of former soldiers by PMSCs for profit-making security business in Iraq. CCF has called on the representatives of PMSCs to seriously reconsider whether this work is worthwhile in view of the death and serious injuries that have occurred and is likely to recur in future. CCF also noted the responsibility of the Fijian Government because it had encouraged the recruitment activities from the start.[15]
31. Prior to its visit to Fiji, the Working Group had noted media reports that Global Risks Strategies, registered in the United Kingdom, had come to Fiji in 2003 to recruit personnel for security-related work in Iraq.[16] Homeland Security Limited had allegedly sent a recruiting team to Fiji seeking 70 men from the police, army or prison service to work as security guards in Iraq, and was reported to have recruited 181 Fijians by mid-2005.[17] Another 70 Fijians were allegedly working in Iraq with Triple Canopy, a United States corporation.[18]
32. In the course of its visit, the Working Group had an opportunity to meet with a number of representatives of PMSCs which have recruited Fijians for security work abroad. The head of one company’s operations in Fiji considered that the search for employment and better pay were the main reasons why thousands of Fijians were braving the dangers of Iraq. One representative informed the Working Group of his function as a “service provider”, for which he receives a salary/fee which usually amount to 7,500 Fiji dollars per month or less and an additional 100 dollars per individual recruited to cover office rent and other expenses. To prepare a person for the work, a fee of 300 dollars is received, followed by 100 dollars per month for each month worked in Iraq. The companies have seen a decline since 2003 in the numbers of recruitments. In 2003, one company sent 560 persons for work in Iraq and has sent around 1,000 since then, while in 2007 only 10 persons were recruited for work in Iraq. Another PMSC employer said that his company had previously sent some 150 persons but that currently only 10 of those recruited through the company were working in Iraq. It was noted that many had left the companies and worked for other companies and that some applied through the Internet and went directly to Iraq through their own contacts.
33. One PMSC employer reported that the company had set some baseline criteria for recruitment: (i) ex-military or ex-policeman with at least three years of experience; (ii) birth certificate and other papers, over 23 and under 55; (iii) police clearance (criminal record checker), which the company pays for as well as the medical check-up. The representative stated that no training was dispensed in Fiji but that five days of training were provided upon arrival in Baghdad and that the AK-47 was the main weapon used in Iraq. While this PMSC employer representative stated that none of those recruited by his company had been killed, he noted that five persons who had left to work for another company had been killed, which had led to the imprisonment in Kuwait of the people who had hired them.
34. Employer representatives of PMSCs informed the Working Group generally of similar but also some differing procedures. One representative noted that he conducts physical and medical tests and assists recruits with their visa application, while another representative spoke of his good relations with the Australian Embassy in Fiji (recruits often travel by air through Sydney and Dubai). The representatives reported differing practices as to whether the employment contracts were signed abroad or in Fiji, signed by representatives of the mother company or signed on their behalf, and there were differing accounts as to the attestation by and contacts with the Ministry of Labour. As for working conditions, the range of remuneration varied from 1,500 to 3,000 dollars, with three to six months of work prior to leave and different levels of insurance policies and compensation. The representatives said that payments usually go through offices or banks in Dubai or London, and rarely directly to the families. One representative noted that a letter of release is required if the recruitment concerns military personnel, who may remain in the reserves with a corresponding impact on their pension and other rights; such release is not requested if it concerns a person currently in the reserves. The company can apparently write to the Army and provide the list of those wishing to be hired and the Army issues permissions.
35. As for the accounts by recruited PMSC employees received by the Working Group during the visit, the practices described above concerning the recruitment phase of their work were largely confirmed. It was confirmed that the employment agreements were routinely witnessed by official representatives of the Ministry of Labour in Fiji. Former employees described their travels to the Middle East on chartered planes, including via Korea and Dubai, and observed security personnel from the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Kenya, Uganda, Fiji, Pakistan, South Africa and Mexico. The type of security-related work once in Iraq included manning checkpoints, guarding electricity plants, static security, convoy security and personal security detail.
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