UN Secretary-General calls for action on armed drones in new disarmament initiative

On the 24th of May, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented his initiative “Securing Our Common Future: an Agenda for Disarmament”. This ambitious project aims to tackle a range of issues related to international security, including nuclear weapons, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, arms trade, and lethal autonomous weapons. In his speech in Geneva, Guterres discussed the work to improve protection of civilians in armed conflict through new partnerships, and by building legal and policy initiatives. Prior to the presentation, numerous meetings were held with civil society organisations. Members of EFAD also participated in these consultations and brought up armed drones as one of the key agenda items. This was reflected in his speech, as the Secretary-General stated:

“Armed drones challenge longstanding interpretations of international law. We need common standards on transparency, accountability and oversight.”

Drones were adressed in the report accompanying the intiative too:

“We must also remain on guard to prevent new technologies, such as armed drones, from tempting any reinterpretation of international law. Armed drones have unique characteristics that make them particularly susceptible to misuse in comparison to other technologies. These include their low costs, which can aid their rapid proliferation; their small size and precision, which can tempt covert armed forces and non-State actors to use them secretly and without appropriate transparency, oversight and accountability; and the minimal risk to their operators, which can lower thresholds for the use of force.

Increasing transparency and accountability on the use of armed drones could increase confidence in adherence to international law, promote common standards to reduce the potential for unlawful acts, protect civilians, promote international peace and security, promote the democratic legitimacy of counter-terrorism operations, assist in the investigation of human rights violations, and facilitate implementation of export controls. Increasing transparency and accountability on holdings and on the transfer of armed drones could facilitate implementation of export controls and other international arrangements, and help combat illicit transfers.”

Ongoing initiatives by UNIDIR to address armed drones in multilateral framework discussions reflect this approach, yet it is up to States to move forward a progressive and robust agenda that deals with the challenges posed by the increasing use and proliferation of armed drones.