A/HRC/44/38 drone technologies,7 making their use a major international security issue.8 For the first time, in January 2020, a State armed drone targeted a high-level official of a foreign state on the territory of a third one – a significant development and an escalation. 6. It is against this backdrop that the present report seeks to update previous findings. 9 It interrogates the reasons for drones’ proliferation and the legal implications of their promises; questions the legal bases upon which their use is founded and legitimized; and identifies the mechanisms and institutions (or lack thereof) to regulate drones’ use and respond to targeted killings. The report shows that drones are a lightning rod for key questions about protection of the right to life in conflicts, asymmetrical warfare, counter-terrorism operations, and socalled peace situations. With their lot of unlawful deaths and arbitrary killings, they are also revealing of the severe failures of national and international institutions mandated to protect human rights, democracy, peace and security. II. Growing use of armed drones A. Proliferation by actor, place and country 7. As of 2020, at least 102 countries had acquired an active military drone inventory, and around 40 possess, or are in the process of procuring, armed drones. 35 States are believed to possess the largest and deadliest class. 10 Since 2015, Egypt, Iraq, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America 11 have allegedly operated drones, including for the purpose of use of force, such as targeted killings. 8. Since 2015, armed drones have been used against domestic targets on national territories, within and outside non-international armed conflicts. Turkey has reportedly used drones domestically against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) 12 and in 2016 Nigeria confirmed carrying out an attack against a Boko Haram logistics base. 13 In 2015, Pakistan allegedly used its armed drones, for the very first time, in an operation to kill three “highprofile terrorists”.14 Iraq similarly purchased drones to carry out strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Anbar Province in 2016. 15 9. At least 20 armed non-State actors have reportedly obtained armed and unarmed drone systems, 16 including the Libyan National Army, Harakat Tahrir al-Sham, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Venezuelan military defectors, PKK, Maute Group, Jalisco New Generation 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 4 www.newamerica.org/international-security/reports/world-drones/who-has-what-countries-witharmed-drones/. www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/full/10.1162/ISEC_a_00257#fn31. Military drones are grouped into three categories based on their size and capabilities: class I (small drones); class II (medium-sized drones weighing between 150 kg and 600 kg); and class III (the largest and most lethal drones). For their invaluable contributions, the Special Rapporteur thanks Bach Avezdjanov, Carolyn Horn, James Rogers and Sarah Katharina Stein. www.newamerica.org/international-security/reports/world-drones/who-has-what-countries-witharmed-drones/. Officially, France carried out its first drone strike in December 2019 for kinetic tactical support reasons (www.france24.com/en/20191224-france-says-it-carried-out-first-armed-drone-strike-inmali). The Russian Federation allegedly conducted strikes in the Syrian Arab Republic while undertaking combat trials of the Orion (https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia%E2%80%99spredator-drone-flew-strikes-syria-93366). www.theguardian.com/news/2019/nov/18/killer-drones-how-many-uav-predator-reaper. See also a video by the Government of Turkey of a 2018 strike: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQRNI6NDmAQ. https://twitter.com/NigAirForce/status/958004984343343106. See also videos by the Government of Nigeria of strikes: www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Jf80aJw_ wGhA5AzP_9iLg/search?query=drone. www.defensenews.com/air/2015/09/08/pakistan-surprises-many-with-first-use-of-armed-drone/. www.popularmechanics.com/military/a21197/the-iraqi-army-is-flying-chinese-made-killer-drones/. www.newamerica.org/international-security/reports/world-drones/non-state-actors-with-dronecapabilities; https://ploughshares.ca/pl_publications/the-use-of-drones-by-nonstate-actors/; http://saharareporters.com/2018/11/30/%E2%80%98boko-haram-using-drones-mercenaries-againstnigerian-troops%E2%80%99.