How do targeted killings fit in with human rights law? What are the requirements for transparancy and accountability? And what human rights obligations do European countries have when assisting other countries in drones strikes, e.g. through intelligence sharing?
These are some of the topics examined by the paper ‘Towards a European Position on the Use of Armed Drones? A Human Rights Approach’, published today by PAX and the International Center for Counter Terrorism. The paper was launched in the context of the UN General Assembly 1st Committee’s (disarmament) deliberations in New York. The paper presents and builds on the outcomes of an April 2016 expert meeting on human rights implications of the use of armed drones, at which a number of issues highlighted in a previous ICCT paper surveying European Union Member States’ positions on armed drones and targeted killing were discussed.
The authors’ conclusions include observations on the need for and possible ways to attain relevant information from governments and government agencies, challenges for the use of armed drones generally, and legal challenges and recommendations.
The paper ‘Towards a European Position on the Use of Armed Drones? A Human Rights Approach‘ can be viewed here.