A/HRC/25/59
Parliament on the study Human Rights Implications of the Usage of Drones and Unmanned
Robots in Warfare. 2
12.
On 3 May, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Paris, where he met senior
representatives of the Presidency and the ministries of foreign affairs and defence to discuss
issues relevant to the present report.
13.
On 14 May, the Special Rapporteur participated as a panellist in a debate entitled
“Drone wars: counter-terrorism and human rights”, organized by the American Society of
International Law and the New America Foundation.
14.
From 1 to 7 June, the Special Rapporteur attended meetings in Washington, D.C.,
with senior lawyers at the United States Department of State, the Department of Defense,
the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the President’s national security staff. He also met the
Director of CIA, in addition to the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic
Communications and Speechwriting and the Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and
Human Rights of the President’s national security staff.
15.
On 13 and 14 June, the Special Rapporteur participated as a panellist in an
international counter-terrorism focal points conference on addressing conditions conducive
to the spread of terrorism and promoting regional cooperation, organized by the CounterTerrorism Implementation Task Force in partnership with the Government of Switzerland.
16.
On 21 June, the Special Rapporteur met the European Union Counter-Terrorism
Coordinator at the European Commission and addressed the Counter-Terrorism Committee
of the European Parliament in Brussels, at the invitation of the Irish Presidency. His address
concerned the formulation of European Union policy on the use of remotely piloted aircraft
in lethal counter-terrorism operations.
17.
From 17 to 30 July, the Special Rapporteur conducted a visit to Chile, at the
invitation of the Government. He will present his report thereon (A/HRC/25/59/Add.2) to
the Human Rights Council at its current session.
18.
On 8 August, the Special Rapporteur met senior officials of the Ministry of Defence
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in London to discuss issues
relevant to the present report. He was given a detailed legal and technical briefing on the
use by the United Kingdom of remotely piloted aircraft.
19.
On 25 October, the Special Rapporteur presented an interim report to the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session on his examination of the use of remotely piloted
aircraft, or drones, in extraterritorial lethal counter-terrorism operations and its civilian
impact (A/68/389). He also participated in a side event on “Drones and the law” with the
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, and representatives of academia and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs).
20.
On 3 December, the Special Rapporteur participated as a third party (“amicus
curiae”) in the hearings by the European Court of Human Rights of the cases Al Nashiri v.
Poland (application No. 28761/11) and Husayn (Abu Zubaydah) v. Poland (application No.
7511/13), which raise issues about the duty of States in international law to investigate
allegations of secret detention, torture and rendition taking place on their territory and the
way in which such investigations should be conducted when the material relevant to them
engages the State’s interest in national security.
2
4
Nils Melser (Policy Department of the Directorate-General for External Policies, 2013).
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