Amnesty International is calling on all States to articulate and rigorously implement clear, binding and transparent policies on the use and transfer of armed drones that incorporate the key principles outlined in this briefing. Similarly to EFAD's Call to Action, Amnesty calls for compliance with international law, more transparency, accountability and oversight, preventing complicity by third parties, regulating the transfer of...

24 October, 2017 /

EFAD Member Article 36 has published a report on the humanitarian impacts of armed drones, together with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the International Disarmament Institute at Pace University. This collaborative study aims to refocus the debate about drones on the harm caused to people by these weapons as specific technologies of violence. Humanitarian harm from the use of...

17 October, 2017 /

In what circumstances can the UK Government target and kill a British citizen abroad? Can the Government withhold its legal basis for doing so by invoking a blanket claim to secrecy with reference to the involvement of the security services? Has the UK been inching towards the US position on the use of force, while denying the public the opportunity...

12 October, 2017 /

On the 25th of September, Rete Italiana per il Disarmo, CILD and the ECCHR hosted a conference in Milan on ‘Armed drones in Italy and Europe: Problems and Perspectives Between military strategy, transparency issues and protection of fundamental human rights’. The conference brought together many academics, legal experts, and civil society groups from Europe and the United States to discuss...

11 October, 2017 /

The New York Times has reported that the Trump administration is set to dismantle Obama-era restrictions on drone strikes and ground raids outside traditional warzones (see story here). EFAD Member Reprieve has found that since Trump took office, at least 30 civilians have been killed in ground raids and drone strikes in Yemen, where the US is not formally at war. The...

24 September, 2017 /

On the 25th of September, Rete Italiana per il Disarmo, ECCHR and CILD will host a conference in Milan entitled: “Armed drones in Italy and Europe: Problems and Perspectives Between military strategy, transparency issues and protection of fundamental human rights.” CILD has more information on its website here. A number of experts from EFAD organizations will be speaking and present during the...

20 September, 2017 /

Earlier this month, 19 civil society organizations, including 9 members of the European Forum on Armed Drones, raised concerns about US-led initiative on the export and subsequent use of armed and strike-enabled aerial vehicles. The statement highlights several issues around the risks and limitations posed by the US’ Joint Declaration, most concerning about how these proposals may contain standards that are...

12 September, 2017 /

On the 5th of September 2017, French Minister of Defense, Florance Parly, announced that France has decided to arm its surveillance drones in West Africa as part of counter-terrorism operations against suspected Islamists militants. No timeframe was given for the arming of these nor was it clear what framework would guide their use. Despite Parly’s mention that “The drones wouldn’t become...

05 September, 2017 /