US drone strikes may be war crimes: UN official

[Naveed Yaseen]

UNITED NATIONS: US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN’s top investigator of such crimes said on Tuesday.

“The problem with the US is that it is making an increased use of drones or Predators (which are) particularly prominently used now in relation to Pakistan and Afghanistan,” UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston told a press conference.

“My concern is that drones or Predators are being operated in a framework which may well violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” he said.

“The onus is really on the US government to reveal more about the ways in which it makes sure that arbitrary extrajudicial executions aren’t in fact being carried out through the use of these weapons,” he added.

Alston said he presented a report on the matter to the UN General Assembly.

He urged the US to be more forthright about how and when it uses drone aircraft, something about which the US Defence Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually keep silent.

“We need the US to be more up front and say, OK, we’re willing to discuss some aspects of this programme,” Alston said.

“I would like to know the legal basis upon which the US is operating, in other words... who is running the programme, what accountability mechanisms are in place in relation to that,” Alston said.

“Secondly, what precautions the US is taking to ensure that these weapons are used strictly for purposes consistent with international humanitarian law. “Third, what sort of review mechanism is there to evaluate when these weapons have been used? Those are the issues I’d like to see addressed,” the UN official said. afp

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