"While the fact that civilians have been killed or injured does not necessarily point to a violation of international humanitarian law, it undoubtedly raises issues of accountability and transparency." — Ben Emmerson QC, the United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, in a report examining 33 drone strikes, in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, and Gaza, which "have resulted in civilian casualties and may have violated international humanitarian law."
Emmerson criticises the CIA's involvement in US drone strikes for creating "an almost insurmountable obstacle to transparency". He adds: "One consequence is that the United States has to date failed to reveal its own data on the level of civilian casualties inflicted through the use of remotely piloted aircraft in classified operations conducted in Pakistan and elsewhere."Yes. Not that the US government will listen.
...The special rapporteur concludes by urging: "the United States to further clarify its position on the legal and factual issues … to declassify, to the maximum extent possible, information relevant to its lethal extraterritorial counter-terrorism operations; and to release its own data on the level of civilian casualties inflicted through the use of remotely piloted aircraft, together with information on the evaluation methodology used."
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