Iraq and the United States are among 17 states that have agreed to a new series of recommendations on the use of private military and security firms, the Red Cross said Wednesday,

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) presented the so-called Montreux document at a joint press conference with the Swiss foreign ministry, saying it stresses that private security contractors are bound by international law.

The document "outlines for the first time ever detailed and practical measures to help states enhance compliance with international humanitarian law and ensure respect for human rights," the ICRC said.

Divided into two sections, the document highlights existing international laws with which such companies should comply, and in the second section, gives recommendations including how companies should be engaged by states and how countries could ensure that the companies abide by the rules.

"The Montreux document will enhance the protection of people affected by armed conflict," said ICRC's director for international law Philip Spoerri, pointing out that the document affirms that military and security contractors dispatched to war zones must comply with international law.

Paul Seger, who is director of international law at Switzerland's foreign ministry, said there had been an increase in the number of private companies operating in conflict zones.

In cases where there have been alleged incidents of abuses, some have claimed that there was no international law regulating such companies, he said.

"Responding to this from a legislative perspective..., there was something wrong with this statement, because there is a lot of law out there -- international humanitarian law on conflict regulates the matter," he said.

But he acknowledged that these regulations had to be translated for companies and states to "see where are these rules relevant for these private military companies."

The document, which clearly explains how existing rules can be applied, could help in the prosecution of rogue companies, he added.

One high-profile incident involving private security firms is the case of US firm Blackwater USA on the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad last year.

Iraq in August said it reserved the right to put on trial six guards working for Blackwater, while Blackwater claimed its guards were acting in self-defence.

According to Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association, a grouping of companies involved in peacekeeping, the international services and peacekeeping industry is worth some 20 billion dollars.

Security companies, in particular, make up five percent of that.

Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Iraq, Poland, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States were the countries that signed up to the document.