On 27-28 February 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica organised the first MDF Regional Meeting in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, with the support of the Co-Chairs of the Montreux Document Forum (MDF) – the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – along with technical support from DCAF. Participants considered national and regional experiences of private military and security companies (PMSCs) and identified concrete ways through which the Montreux Document – which highlights pertinent international legal obligations and good practices for states related to operations of PMSCs during armed conflict – can help to strengthen implementation of PMSC oversight and regulations.

This report presents the challenges and state regulatory approaches for PMSCs in the region. It also includes a summary and analysis of the debates, questions, conclusions and recommendations shared during the meeting. The report is based on the panel presentations and interventions made during the discussion sessions, as well as desk-based research and academic sources intended to supplement and contextualize conference discussions.