At present, the subject of mercenaries has many facets which include the involvement of mercenaries in armed conflict; sabotage and participation in covert activities that undermine the constitutional order of a State; interference in the internal affairs of States calculated to bring about political instability by violent attacks on political leaders; unlawful trafficking of weapons, precious stones, oil and drugs; mercenaries hired by authoritarian regimes as professional military experts to carry out military training; participation by mercenaries in terrorist activities; participation by mercenaries in crimes against State security and economic well-being; mercenary operations carried out by private security companies; and impunity aided by the absence of enabling national legislation to punish mercenaries.

It is one of the richest continents on the planet, endowedwith oil, precious stones, forests, water, wildlife, soil, land,agricultural products, and millions of women and men.

The illegal arms traffic is based on payment in cash but also in kind, and recent conflicts reveal that the weapons acquired illegally are paid for with diamonds and other precious stones or with oil or drugs.

Sheikh Yamani, Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister and afounding architect of OPEC, once said, “ The stone age came to anend not for a lack of stones, and the oil age will end, but not fora lack of oil.”