MERCENARIES AND MISCHIEF: THE REGULATION OF FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE BILL

The document analyzes the 1997 South African Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Bill, which aims to prevent citizens and companies from providing unauthorized military services abroad. The authors argue that the Bill's vague definitions of 'armed conflict' and 'foreign military assistance' could encompass non-combatant activities such as humanitarian aid, election monitoring, and academic research. They highlight concerns regarding the extensive discretionary power granted to the Minister of Defence and the lack of transparency in the authorization process. The paper proposes specific amendments to narrow the scope of the legislation, streamline the approval process, and protect bona fide NGOs and academic institutions from excessive penalties.

• The Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Bill [B54-97] aims to stop South African citizens and companies from providing military or military-related services abroad without government authority, specifically targeting 'mercenary activity' such as that seen with Executive Outcomes in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Papua New Guinea.
• The Bill's definitions of 'armed conflict' and 'foreign military assistance' are criticized as being too vague, potentially subjecting humanitarian workers, NGOs, and universities to the same regulations and penalties as mercenaries.
• The proposed legislation grants the Minister of Defence significant discretionary power over the authorization and approval of services, with no legal obligation for the Minister to provide reasons for denying an application or to respond within a specific timeframe.
• The Bill establishes a two-stage regulatory process requiring both ministerial authorisation to market services and ministerial approval to enter into specific contracts, both of which are preceded by recommendations from the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC).
• Penalties for non-compliance with the Bill are described as excessive, with maximums of a one million rand fine, ten years imprisonment, or both.
• The authors suggest amendments to the Bill to ensure that 'foreign military assistance' only includes services involving arms or combat proficiency and to implement strict time limits (seven days) for the NCACC and Minister to process applications.

APA

Malan, M., & Cilliers, J. (1997). MERCENARIES AND MISCHIEF: THE REGULATION OF FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE BILL. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_25.pdf

Chicago

Malan, Mark, and Jakkie Cilliers. MERCENARIES AND MISCHIEF: THE REGULATION OF FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE BILL. Institute for Security Studies, 1997. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_25.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Malan |first1=Mark |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=MERCENARIES AND MISCHIEF: THE REGULATION OF FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE BILL |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=September 1997 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_25.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{malan1997mercenaries, author = {Malan, Mark and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{MERCENARIES AND MISCHIEF: THE REGULATION OF FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE BILL}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1997}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper_25.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }