At
UN, Expert
Heyns Tells
ICP of Legal
Flaws of
Drones and US
Sales
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 25 --
US drone
strikes in
Yemen and
Somalia are
problematic,
the UN
system's
Special
Rapporteur on
extrajudicial,
summary or
arbitrary
executions
Christof Heyns
told Inner
City Press
at Thursday
afternoon at
the UN. Video
here, from
Minute 31:50.
Along
with a question
on execution
in Sri Lanka,
Inner City
Press asked
Heyns about
drone strikes,
as it had last week
asked US State
Department
official
Harold Koh.
Heyns answer
was different
than
Koh's, and
made different
points than
fellow
Rapporteur Ben
Emmerson.
Heyns
told Inner
City Press
that he (and
Emmerson) will
submit a
report on
drones "next
year to the
[UN] General
Assembly in
October."
He said while
"the use of a
drone is not
inherently
illegal...
in Yemen,
Somalia and so
forth it is
problematic,
outside the
theater
of war."
Inner
City Press has
also asked
about
Pakistan, but
Heyns did not
mention
it by name. He
continued that
"the inherent
nature of
drone, far
away from
where there is
a military
conflict
taking place"
raised two
issues "when
you look at
the defense by
US officals"
like Koh.
Heyns
summarized
that US
defense as
"it's an act
of
self-defense,
so
the normal
rules of
international
humanitarian
law don't
apply."
He said,
"that's wrong
-- first ask
if entitled to
self-defense,
then ask if
comply with
international
humanitarian
law."
He
said, "the
largest
problem is
tartgeting
individuals
who are not
direct
participants.
There is a
general
requirement
they be an
immediate
threat, enemy
combattants or
those
participating
in
hostilities...
Mere
membership is
not enough."
He
concluded that
beyond the US'
own use, "the
US agreed sell
to 66
countries,
maybe 70
states already
have drones..
there's the
specter
of collateral
damage
anywhere."
Click
here
for Heyns'
answers to
Inner City
Press on Sri
Lanka;
click
here
for US
official
Harold Koh's
answers to
Inner City
Press on
drones.
Watch this
site.
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