UN Warns AI and Drones Are Reshaping Mercenary Operations

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  September 16, 2026

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, drones and surveillance technology are changing how mercenaries and private military and security companies operate, creating new risks for human rights and international security, a UN expert group has warned.

The UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries said in a report presented to the Human Rights Council that military and security functions are increasingly being carried out through digital technologies and commercial service providers.

The report says mercenary-related actors and private military and security companies are using advanced technologies for recruitment, surveillance, intelligence gathering, cyber operations, influence campaigns and participation in armed conflicts.

The growing use of technology is also making it harder to establish accountability for abuses, according to the Working Group. Complex supply chains, opaque corporate structures, cross-border operations, encrypted communications and increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems can make it difficult to determine who is responsible for technology-enabled violations.

The experts said digital tools and social media platforms are also being used to recruit people into armed activities, including young people and children, while spreading disinformation and amplifying harmful narratives.

The Working Group warned that advanced technologies are increasingly being used against journalists, human rights defenders, students, activists, political opposition figures, Indigenous Peoples, ethnic and religious minorities and communities affected by conflict.

It said legal and regulatory systems have failed to keep pace with the speed of technological development.

The report calls on governments to strengthen regulation and oversight of private military and security companies and to incorporate human rights standards into technology procurement and export controls.

Governments should also ensure that victims of technology-enabled abuses have access to effective remedies, the experts said.

The Working Group urged technology companies, cybersecurity firms and private security providers to conduct stronger human rights due diligence and prevent their products and services from being used for unlawful surveillance, disinformation campaigns or autonomous targeting without meaningful human control.

“The development and deployment of technology must strengthen human security, not undermine it,” the Working Group said.

The UN experts said human rights protections, accountability and effective oversight should remain central to efforts to govern emerging technologies as their use in military and security operations expands.

Source: FSX Business News