In the media
ADVANCING PUBLIC DEBATE
I have drafted, contributed to, and co-signed United Nations press releases in cooperation with fellow mandate holders within the Special Procedures. I have also provided expert analysis through media engagements, and my work has been reflected in international and national media across a wide range of jurisdictions and languages. The selection below is illustrative of this engagement. I also regularly brief journalists, both on and off the record, on issues within my areas of expertise.
UN PRESS RELEASES
Civilians bear devastating brunt of fighting in Sudan: UN experts, 11 May 2023
Russian Federation: UN experts alarmed by recruitment of prisoners by “Wagner Group”, 10 March 2023
Armenia: UN experts on use of mercenaries commend domestic legal framework, urge greater oversight, 27 February 2023
Syria: UN experts alarmed by reports of boys taken from Camp Roj by de facto authorities, 16 February 2023
Mali: UN experts call for independent investigation into possible international crimes committed by Government forces and “Wagner group”, 31 January 2023
States must renew their commitment to international cooperation to achieve global development goals and realise human rights, 05 December 2022
Ending violence against women and girls key to tackling global crises and achieving prosperity, 24 November 2022
Violations by mercenaries and private military and security companies highlight urgent need for maritime security oversight: UN experts, 01 November 2022
UN experts call for justice and redress for victims of mercenary actors, 20 September 2022
Xinjiang report: China must address grave human rights violations and the world must not turn a blind eye, say UN experts, 07 September 2022
UN experts condemn Israeli suppression of Palestinian human rights organisations, 24 August 2022
Ukraine: Protecting life must be a priority – UN human rights experts, 08 March 2022
UN experts alarmed by growing use of mercenaries in cyberspace, 28 October 2021
CAR: Russian Wagner Group harassing and intimidating civilians – UN experts, 27 October 2021
Mercenaries and related private contractors must leave Libya to pave way for peace, elections – UN experts, 30 July 2021
CAR: Experts alarmed by government’s use of “Russian trainers”, close contacts with UN peacekeepers, 31 March 2021
Turkey: Withdrawal from Istanbul Convention is a pushback against women’s rights, say human rights experts, 23 March 2021
Joint Statement by independent United Nations human rights experts* on human rights responsibilities of armed non-State actors, 25 February 2021
US should end use of private, ‘for-profit’ migrant detention centres, say UN experts, 04 February 2021
US pardons for Blackwater guards an “affront to justice” – UN experts, 30 December 2020
Urgent action needed to end pandemic of femicide and violence against women, says UN expert, 23 November 2020
Mercenaries in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone must be withdrawn – UN experts, 11 November 2020
Libya: Violations related to mercenary activities must be investigated – UN experts, 17 June 2020
UN experts condemn modern-day racial terror lynchings in US and call for systemic reform and justice, 05 June 2020
Australia: UN experts urge immediate medical attention to migrants in its offshore facilities, 18 June 2019
IN THE MEDIA… SELECTED
- DW, ترامب وسد النهضة.. مصر في قلب الحسابات الأمريكية لأزمة النيل, January 2026
- Jeune Afrique, Jelena Aparac : « Wagner doit être poursuivi en justice pour éviter d’inspirer d’autres États », 27 June 2025
- The Guardian, Supermarket guards, truck drivers and ‘very big mistakes’: the failed role of western mercenaries in the fall of Goma, 15 March 2025
- Center for International Security, Privatising War, Profiting from Pain: Dr. Jelena Aparac on the PMSC Boom and the Legal Vacuum It Exploits, 23 September 2025 and in Chinese
- WILFP, Between allure and need: Mercenaries in the Sahel, 27 June 2024
- TV5 Monde, Mercenaires : Qui sont-ils ? Quel est leur rôle en Afrique ?, 9 December 2024
- Afrique XXI, Russie-Afrique. « Les directives européennes n’ont eu aucun effet sur Wagner », 29 May 2023
- Le Monde, L’inscription du Groupe Wagner sur la liste des organisations terroristes pourrait ouvrir la voie à « des sanctions plus importantes », 10 May 2023
- RFI, À la Une: l’ONU s’inquiète de possibles crimes de l’armée malienne et du groupe Wagner, 02 February 2023
- France Info, Total Energies peut-il être poursuivi pour “complicité de crimes de guerre” en Ukraine, comme l’affirme Yannick Jadot ?, 25 March 2022
- Challenges, Wagner, enquête sur l’armée de l’ombre de Poutine, 16 February 2022
- Arte, Wagner, les mercenaires de la Russie – Partie 2
- see also https://benoitbringer.com/wagner/fr
- L’Express, Massacre de Moura : au Mali, “l’autre Boutcha” des Russes, 6 April 2022
- Liberation, Au rapport En Centrafrique, des exactions des mercenaires russes couvertes par les Casques bleus ?, 31 March 2021
- LDH, Cambodge : La Procureure de la Cour pénale internationale exhortée à poursuivre les crimes d’accaparement de terres, 16 March 2021
- Le Devoir, Après le 11 Septembre, un monde de mercenaires, 12 October 2021
- France Culture, Debat, Les sociétés militaires privées changent-elles la nature de la guerre ?, 27 September 2021
- The Guardian, Russian mercenaries behind human rights abuses in CAR, say UN experts, March 2021
- The Guardian, Trump’s Blackwater pardons an affront to justice, say UN experts, December 2020
- Al Jazeera, Trump’s Blackwater pardons ‘an affront to justice’: UN experts, December 2020
- EURACTIV, UN: Trump pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law, December 2020
- Alarabiya English, Trump’s Blackwater pardons ‘an affront to justice’: UN experts, December 2020
- RTBF, Guerre en Irak : des mercenaires de la société de sécurité privée “Blackwater” graciés par Donald Trump, “un affront à la justice”, condamne l’ONU, December 2020
- DW, Avant de plier bagage, Donald Trump gracie ses alliés, December 2020
- Le Courrier, Des multinationales à La Haye?, 23 September 2019
- Alternatives économiques, Comment mettre fin a l’impunité des multinationales ?, 4 May 2018
And more..
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/DFYJaiPYVB1HyoaVfIfg2Q
https://www.jurist.org/news/2023/02/un-welcomes-armenias-commitment-to-combat-mercenaries-and-private-security-companies/
The UN Has Sent Letters of Allegation to Azerbaijan and Turkey for Involving Mercenaries in the 44-Day War • MassisPost
https://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=74795&lang=3
https://reliefweb.int/report/armenia/armenia-un-experts-use-mercenaries-commend-domestic-legal-framework-urge-greater-oversight-enhy
Revue de presse Afrique – À la Une: l’ONU s’inquiète de possibles crimes de l’armée malienne et du groupe Wagner