[Editor’s note: Emmerson’s drone report is also publicly available on the UN website.]
Last year, two UN Special Rapporteurs released major reports on drones — a report by Christof Heyns (UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions) and a report by Ben Emmerson (UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and countering terrorism) — and both reports were then discussed by states at an important meeting of the United Nations.
An important follow-up report by one of the Special Rapporteurs — Ben Emmerson — is now available. The report provides:
(1) a discussion of recent trends in civilian casualty rates, including in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen;
(2) an examination of 30 case studies of drone strikes in which there was at least “a plausible indication” that civilians were killed, injured, or at immediate risk;
(3) recommendations to clarify and promote compliance with international legal standards (in which the Special Rapporteur provides a veritable laundry list of open questions that he suggests lack a sufficient international consensus).
Stay tuned for more coverage of the report at Just Security.