Fiji should also sign up to an international convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries, a U.N. fact-finding team said.

"The working group notes with concern that in a number of instances the activities carried out by Fijians abroad may qualify as mercenary-related activities," a U.N. statement said.

Trained Fijian soldiers had been recruited by dubious private security firms offering military assistance, consultancy and security services in violent hotspots such as Iraq, it noted.

Fijian mercenaries were found working on Papua New Guinea's island province of Bougainville in 2005, reportedly training the private army of a notorious local criminal, it said.

Men recruited by the firms were sometimes exploited, ill-treated, suffered nonpayment and a lack of basic medical services, the group said, calling for professional counseling and reintegration services for those returning from security work abroad.

"The working group has noted the absence of national legislation and measures in Fiji to effectively address the issues of mercenaries, mercenary-related activities and the effects of private security companies," the statement said.

It called on Fiji to establish a system to regulate, license, control and monitor the activities of private security companies.

The U.N. group also recognized "the important contribution" remittances from Fijians working in security and other sectors made to the country.