Cholpon Orozobekova
Cholpon Orozobekova is a Kyrgyz journalist based in Geneva and an analyst on Central Asian issues. She holds two Master degrees from Geneva-based universities.
DOI: http://DOI Number
Keywords: UAVs, International community, legality, morality, War on Terror, terrorism, NSS 2010, weapon of choice, Bush, Obama, UN Human Rights Watch, International Humanitarian Law, non-combat roles, jus ad bellum, jus in bello, sovereignty
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or simply drones are progressively present in the modern battlefield, but their deployment nonetheless raises questions in the international community, including legal and moral ones. They were adapted by US during war on terror to strike down extremists. The US National Security Strategy 2010 includes a special section on how to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al-Qaeda, and adds that the United States is waging a global campaign against Al-Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates.” UN high-level experts, namely two UN Special Rapporteurs, and international human rights organizations such as: Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International have harshly criticized drone strikes. On March 2014, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution drafted by Pakistan and co-sponsored by Yemen and Switzerland where Pakistan’s former Ambassador Zamir Akram told the UN Human Rights Council that these drone strikes, which have resulted in civilian deaths, also infringe on its sovereignty. This research paper aims to analyse the legal questions related to these drone strikes with respect to jus ad bellum and jus in bello, two main pillars of international law. First, by conducting drone strikes the US has been attacking a sovereign state that they are not engaged in a state of war with. So does this constitute a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty? The second issue is that drone strikes are causing collateral damage on a large scale which is unacceptable under international law.
First Published
September 25, 2015
How to Cite
Cholpon Orozobekova, “The US Drone Policy Under International Law,” Regional Studies 33, no.4 (Autumn 2015): 47-75, https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/the-us-drone-policy-under-international-law/
Issue
Volume 33, Issue 4