The United Nations Human Rights Council is preparing a report covering all aspects of the use of combat drones in the fight against terrorism. This document must be ready in the second half of this year. Military experts, legal experts and human rights organizations are becoming more and more concerned over the fact that the use of drones is limited by nothing at all, and international legal experts believe that combat drones dramatically change the “laws of war”.
Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism headed the work on this document. According to him, the use of drones is regulated neither by the international law nor by any laws.
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The USA is really the leader in both the production and the use of drones. A relevant programme was launched under George W. Bush. Under U.S. President Barack Obama the use of drones has sharply grown. According to a number of organizations in the USA and the United Kingdom, since 2004 combat drones delivered at least 500 strikes, while under George W. Bush – nearly 80 strikes. All the rest – under President Obama. At least, 3,000 peaceful civilians were killed by the “flying bombs”. The USA uses drones in Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, and according to information available, in Somalia – that is against countries with which the USA is not in a state of war.
In the middle of this month the USA successfully tested the most up-to-date X-47B drone with Stealth technology for the U.S. Navy. It was launched from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The second test will be held this summer aircraft carrier.
This is the most up-to-date weapon in the arsenal of the U.S. Navy, James Lewis from the Center for Strategic and
International Studies Say
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The range of the new drone is two times more than the range of any warplane of deck aviation of the U.S. Navy. Approximately in 10 years’ time the world will resort to autonomous and independent robotic killers, and this is fraught with serious danger, UK Director of Human Rights Watch David Mepham says.
There are 10,000 strike drones of various modifications at the disposal of the Pentagon today. According to U.S. experts in 20 to 30 years drones will account for one-third of the combat strike potential of the Air Force.
Author: Andrey Fedyashin
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