A/HRC/25/59 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to its resolution 22/8. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur lists his key activities undertaken from 10 January to 16 December 2013 and focuses thematically on the use of remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, in extraterritorial lethal counter-terrorism operations, including in the context of asymmetrical armed conflict, and its civilian impact, and makes recommendations to States. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 2. On 31 January and 1 February 2013, the Special Rapporteur participated in an international conference on national and regional counter-terrorism strategies convened by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre in Bogota. 3. On 22 February, the Special Rapporteur participated in a high-level policy seminar on targeted killing, unmanned aerial vehicles and European Union policy, held at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. 4. On 25 February, the Special Rapporteur organized a workshop in Geneva for a highlevel Iraqi delegation on conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the context of terrorist violence. 5. On 4 March, the Special Rapporteur participated in a panel discussion, organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative in Geneva, on issues arising from the Initiative’s report, Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition.1 6. On 5 March, the Special Rapporteur presented his report on the framework principles for securing the accountability of public officials for gross or systematic human rights violations committed in the course of State-sanctioned counter-terrorism initiatives (A/HRC/22/52) to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-second session. 7. On 6 March, the Special Rapporteur participated in a briefing given to the European Parliament in Brussels on the human rights implications of the targeted killing programme of the United States of America. 8. From 11 to 13 March, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Islamabad to gather information on the impact of drones on the civilian population for the present report. During his visit, he met officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, defence and human rights and other relevant entities, including a senior representative of the secretariat of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production. 9. From 8 to 12 April, the Special Rapporteur conducted a visit to Burkina Faso, at the invitation of the Government. He will present his report thereon (A/HRC/25/59/Add.1) to the Human Rights Council at its current session. 10. On 23 April, the Special Rapporteur participated in a side event at the twenty-second session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Vienna, on victims of acts of terrorism, and addressed the Commission in plenary meeting on 24 April. 11. On 25 April, the Special Rapporteur participated in a joint hearing, held in Brussels, of the subcommittees on human rights and on security and defence of the European 1 New York, Open Society Foundations, 2013. 3