Foreword by Patricia Arias -- Introduction by Helena Torroja Mateu -- Afghanistan and Syria: Non-state Actors and their Negative Impact on Human Security by Mario Laborie -- Delimitation and Presence of PMSCs: Impact on Human Rights by Felipe Daza -- The Ineffectiveness of the Current Definition of a ‘Mercenary’ in International Humanitarian and Criminal Law by José L. Gómez del Prado -- Private Military and Security Companies and Human Rights by Carlos Lopez-Hurtado -- International Soft Law Initiatives: The Opportunities and Limitations of the Montreux Document, ICoC, and Security Operations Management System Standards by Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt -- Ideas on the International Minimum Standard for the Privatization, Export, and Import of Armed Coercion by Helena Torroja Mateu -- Conclusion by Helena Torroja Mateu.This book explores the human rights consequences of the new mercenarism, as channeled through so-called private military and security companies (PMSCs), and offers an overview of the evolution and status quo of both non-legal (soft law and self-regulation) and legal initiatives seeking to limit them. It addresses various topics, including the impact of the presence of non-state actors on human security using the cases of Afghanistan and Syria; research on PMSCs’ impact on human rights in specific cases; the insufficiency and ineffectiveness of existing direct and indirect legal prohibitions on the use of mercenaries; various aspects of international human rights law and international humanitarian law related to the conduct of PMSCs; soft-law and self-regulation mechanisms; and the international minimum standard in general international law regarding the privatization, export, import, and contracting of PMSCs. .