CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ THE MILITARY USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN THE FIGHT… operators to destroy the target as soon as it is discovered, they can gather more data about the situation around the target. As for today’s unmanned airplanes, they can also carry out attacks that do not distinguish the civilian population from combatants, but the technology itself does not by its nature exclude civilians from combatants, and on the contrary, it enables precise separation between the targets. 37 On the other hand, the system still has weaknesses in this area. It can be noted that the ability of unmanned aerial vehicle operators to target civilians and combatants depends on the ability of the system to transmit accurate images and the software of this system, so that the states that use it should ensure that their technology is suitable for use in armed conflict. 38 It should be noted that unmanned aerial vehicles are usually operated by people who are thousands of miles away from the attack. According to the report Living Under Drones , the technical accuracy of unmanned airplane systems is questioned even by companies that have created the equipment of UAVs. One of the issues is system latency – that is, the time it takes to get satellite imagery to the operator of this device. Therefore, the decision to launch missiles can be taken on the basis of a belated video image. In terms of the principles of both distinction and proportionality, it should also be noted that the field of influence of missiles launched by UAVs is approximately 20 meters and thus affects not only the objects to which it applies but also people around them, houses, vehicles, and the like. The explosive shrapnel are spread even more broadly than mentioned. 39 Even more issues are posed by the U.S. policy and practice of choosing the people to be targeted. In the article on Obama’s policy in the fight against terrorism, the New York Times noted that in calculating civilian casualties, Obama set out a rather questionable method: in principle, all men of age suitable for the army who are shot in the zone of the particular strike are counted as combatants, unless there is intelligence data, which would allow stating that they are innocent. Officials fighting terrorism say that the logic of this approach is simple: do not expect innocence from the people who are in the area where the terrorist activity takes place or who are together with the high-level al Qaeda operative. 40 However, such a provision shows quite eloquently that the U.S. target is not only the fighters with which the United States is in an armed conflict. It should be noted that there are studies in place that indicate that if a person is emotionally and especially physically away from his potential opponent, it facilitates the application of targetted killings and increases the risk of exploitation of such practice. 41 This is also highlighted by UN Rapporteur Philip Alston, who deals with extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, in his study on targeted killings: “The greater concern with drones is that because they make it easier to kill without risk to a State’s forces, 37 Ibid, p. 897. 38 BOWCOTT, O. The legal dilemma over drone strikes: justified killings or war crimes? The Guardian , 2 August 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/02/drone-strikes-thorny-legal-questions [accessed 22 May 2018]. 39 International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic at Stanford Law School and Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law, Living Under Drones: Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan (2012). September 2012 https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Stanford- NYU-Living-Under-Drones.pdf [accessed 22 May 2018], pp. 9-10. 40 BECKER, J., SHANE, S. Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will, The New York Times , 29 May 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda. html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 [accessed 22 May 2018]. 41 BOWCOTT, op. cit. 38.

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