The International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing, and Training of Mercenaries entered into force on 20 October 2001. As of 25 February 2002, there were 22 states parties and 16 signatories to the convention. Only one EU member state, Italy, has ratified the convention, and only one other, Germany, has signed it.
While the terms of the convention have been examined by my Department, no specific steps have been taken towards ratification of the convention in the period mentioned by the Deputy. While Ireland's accession to this particular convention is not at present under active consideration, this is not to say that accession has been ruled out. It may be that at some stage in the future a decision would be taken to accede to the convention. The situation will be kept under review in the context of the ongoing assessment and prioritisation of Ireland's international commitments.