UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera on Monday urged the international community to heed the increase of cyber attacks by mercenary groups.

"Mercenaries are not only involved in active combat. We now see an increase in cyber attacks and industrial espionage earned out by mercenary groups within the comfort of their homes," said Sezibera while addressing the UN Security Council high-level debate: Mercenaries activities as a source of instability and destabilization in Africa.

"The existing policy frameworks of the African Union and also the United Nations Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries of 1989 need to be updated in order for them to cope with emerging realities," he added.

"To address and neutralize the threat of mercenary activities in Africa, we must take robust measures to deal with this persistent source of instability on our continent," said the foreign minister.

"Only collective and well-coordinated approach at regional and international levels will allow us to end the mercenary phenomenon by disrupting their financial networks, cross border recruitments and therefore defeat their operations," said Sezibera.

Sezibera addressed the Security Council on behalf of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who was invited in his capacity as chairperson of the African Union to contribute to the debate.

"Mercenaries are part of a worrying increase of trans-boundary criminal networks, some well financed with sophisticated communication and military equipment and many connected to global terrorist networks," said the foreign minister.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the debate that the international body "stands ready to continue to support governments in tackling mercenary activities."

Equatorial Guinea, which holds the presidency of the Council for February, organized the high-level debate, presided over by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.