“If this study tells us anything, it is that a new international convention on private military companies is urgently needed to hold these actors and their state sponsors to account.”
Professor Christopher Kinsey
23 February 2026
Private Military Companies Linked to All Six Grave Violations Against Children, New King's-UNICEF Working Paper Warns
A new UNICEF working paper co-authored by Professor Christopher Kinsey and Dr Özlem Has from the School of Security Studies, King’s College London, examines the growing role of Private Military Companies in contemporary conflicts and the governance gaps surrounding their operations.
Researchers from the School of Security Studies at King’s College London have authored a new UNICEF working paper examining how the growing involvement of Private Military Companies (PMCs) in contemporary armed conflict affects children’s rights.
The paper, “Private Military Companies and Child Rights,” was co-authored by Professor Christopher Kinsey and Dr Özlem Has in collaboration with UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti.
Links to all six grave violations
As states increasingly outsource military and security functions, Private Military Companies are operating in conflict-affected environments where children face acute risks.
Drawing on legal analysis, documented cases and interviews with UNICEF field staff and practitioners, the study finds that Private Military Companies’ operations may be associated – directly or indirectly – with all six grave violations against children identified under the UN Security Council’s children and armed conflict agenda: killing and maiming of children; recruitment or use of children; sexual violence; abduction; attacks on schools and hospitals; and denial of humanitarian access.
Even where attribution is unclear, the close operational links between PMCs and state and non-state actors, combined with opaque contractual arrangements, make accountability more difficult and increase risks for children.
The working paper also highlights indirect forms of harm: militarised environments shaped by Private Military Companies are linked to displacement, disruption of education and healthcare, and heightened insecurity for humanitarian actors – impacts that disproportionately affect children and undermine their long-term safety and development.
A new international convention
The authors argue that existing regulatory and accountability frameworks are insufficient to address these risks. Opaque contractual arrangements, fragmented oversight and the close operational proximity of Private Military Companies to state and non-state armed actors create governance gaps that complicate enforcement under international humanitarian and human rights law.
“What emerges from this study is not simply a pattern of individual violations, but a broader governance gap. International humanitarian and human rights law apply in principle, yet enforcement remains fragmented and inconsistent in practice. If children’s rights are to be meaningfully protected, child protection standards must be explicitly integrated into regulation, contracting frameworks and operational oversight.”
Dr Özlem Has
The working paper concludes with targeted recommendations aimed at governments, international organisations and industry actors, calling for stronger regulatory standards, clearer accountability mechanisms and the systematic integration of child protection safeguards into PMC oversight frameworks.
The research reflects King’s ongoing engagement with international partners on global security governance, contributing to policy debates on armed forces’ privatisation and the protection of children in armed conflict.
The full working paper is available via UNICEF.
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Professor of International Security
Visiting Research Fellow