UN Investigator Blasts US Drone Program | Common Dreams

UN Investigator Blasts US Drone Program | Common Dreams

In a report issued overnight to the United Nation's Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UN investigator and special rappateur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns condemned the continued use of US drones to assassinate suspected militants and questioned the legality of the Obama administration's program under international law.
  Pakistani protesters hold burning US and NATO flags rallying against US drone attacks in the Pakistani tribal belts during a demonstration in Multan on June 4, 2012. (AFP Photo/S.S Mirza) "While these attacks are directed at individuals believed to be leaders or active members of al Qaeda or the Taliban, in the context of armed conflict (e.g. in Afghanistan), in other instances, civilians have allegedly also perished in the attacks in regions where it is unclear whether there was an armed conflict or not (e.g. in Pakistan)," Heynes said in the report.
"The Special Rapporteur again requests the [US] Government to clarify the rules that it considers to cover targeted killings ... (and) reiterates his predecessor's recommendation that the government specify the bases for decisions to kill rather than capture 'human targets' and whether the State in which the killing takes places has given consent," Heyns said.
The report came on the eve of an international debate on the US drone program to be held at the Geneva Forum on Tuesday in Switzerland.