Busy Autumn on Drones Front
By Chris Cole
After a relatively quiet summer, the military use of drones
is likely to hit the headlines again this autumn.
UN Drone Investigation to report in October
Perhaps likely to garner most column inches will be the report
of Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on
Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, to the UN General Assembly in New York on
25 October.
In January 2013 Ben Emmerson announced that he was
undertaking an investigation into the use of armed drones for targeted killing
at the request of several states and in response to what he called “the
increasing international concern surrounding the issue of remote targeted
killing through the use of UAVs.” The
investigation is focusing on 25 ‘cases studies’ from Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia,
Afghanistan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
During the investigation, Mr Emmerson has met with officials
from “relevant States” including Pakistan, the US and the UK. After meeting with US officials Mr Emmerson
said he was expecting a “significant
reduction” in US drone strikes, while after meeting with Pakistan officials in
March 2013 he put out a very clear statement on the ‘consent’ issue:
“The position of
the Government of Pakistan is quite clear. It does not consent to the use of
drones by the United States on its territory and it considers this to be a
violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. As a matter of
international law the US drone campaign in Pakistan is therefore being
conducted without the consent of the elected representatives of the people, or
the legitimate Government of the State. It involves the use of force on the
territory of another State without its consent and is therefore a violation of
Pakistan’s sovereignty.”
Although not looking at the wider global peace and security
implications of the growing use of armed drones, the report will examine the
impact of drone strikes on civilians and the human rights and legal
consequences of such technology.
Europe, drones and cash carrots
Meanwhile Europe continue to argue over whether to invest
billions in developing their own armed
drone industry – and if so which countries will get prime constructor status or
secondary supplier status - and whether
in the long run it would be simpler, quicker and cheaper to buy drones
‘off-the-shelf’ from the US or Israel.
The European track record on joint ‘defence’ industry
co-operation is poor to say the least and so far initiatives to work jointly on
developing a new armed drone are not getting very far. Due to the delays many European countries now
want to buy armed Reaper drones from General Atomics in the US. However so far only the UK has received
Congressional approval as many in the US
Congress believe that proliferation of such technology is not in the US
interests.
While this impasse has been ongoing for some time, it is
likely things may come to a head this autumn as the US has now signalled it is
willingness to export armed Reaper drones, with a sale of Reapers to France
receiving Congressional approval in late July.
Italy, German and the Netherlands also want armed Reapers and the sale
to France is likely to trigger renewed efforts from them to secure approval
this autumn.
If these sales go through it will be even harder for
European countries to justify investing billions in developing new armed drones
at a time when many key social programmes are being cut. However the industry is fighting back with
Defense News reporting that a “cash carrot” of
€100million ((US $132.7 million) is to be offered to persuade European
governments to ‘invest’ in drones.
Defense News says “ The cash offer, plus an offer of technical
assistance, will be made to European defense ministers when they meet in
September in the hope that a deal on a common medium-altitude, long-endurance
(MALE) program can be reached during an EU defense summit in December.”
US Review, UK Inquiry
Also this autumn the USAF will be releasing a report
revealing its thinking on drone requirements over the next 25 years. The 100-page RPA Vector Report will look at
large themes and reflect on the needs of the US military in regard to the use
of unmanned drones over the next quarter of a century.
The UK Parliamentary Defence Select Committee is also
reviewing the use of drones, or as they insist on calling them ‘Remotely
Piloted Air Systems (RPAS). Key
questions that the Committee’s Inquiry seeks to address include
What governance
and oversight arrangements are in place for the use of RPAS in the UK and
overseas?
What lessons have
been learnt from RPAS operations in Afghanistan, and elsewhere (including
present and planned weapons), and how will this enable the future development
of doctrine on their use?
How dependent is
the UK RPAS programme on technology, training and operational support from the
USA?
What additional
capabilities will the UK seek to develop from now to 2020?
What ethical and
legal issues arise from the use of RPAS?
Campaigning
Meanwhile drone campaigners will also be busy this autumn
with many events and protests planned in the US and the Drones Week of Action
planned for October in the UK. Drone
campaigners are planning to challenge the drone industry at the DSEI London
arms fair and there will be a two-day Information Tribunal hearing in London
brought by Drone Wars UK to try to overturn the MoD’s refusal to release more
information about UK use of drones in Afghanistan under the Freedom of
Information Act. CodePink are also
organising an international Drone Summit in November aimed in part at forming a
Global Drones Network.
All-in-all, Autumn 2013 is likely to be a busy time on the
drones front.
Drone Wars UK aims to be a source of information on the
growing use of armed drones. As we are based in the UK we will focus on the use
of British drones but also include information about armed drones in general.
Drones Week of Action 5 – 12 Oct 2013
The Drone Campaign Network is organising the third annual
Week of Action on drones to promote understanding and resistance to the growing
use of drones and remote warfare. The
Drones Week of Action is also part of
the International Keep Space for Peace Week.
This year, as billions of pounds are forecast to be spent on
drone technology over the coming decade
we are focusing on the economic and human cost of drone warfare.
Please consider organising an event in your area focusing on
the use of drones.
This may be
a public meeting
(we can provide speakers – also see below),
a street stall in
your town centre (we can provide resources),
an awareness
raising event – last year there were
walks and cycle rides against drones,
a protest vigil at
a local site connected with the drones wars
or perhaps a
fundraising event to support the on-going campaign against the use of drones.
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