A/HRC/44/38 humanitarian and/or human rights law.36 Civilian deaths and drones’ operations also alienate local populations, further reducing their willingness to provide intelligence and generating grievances that can feed further conflict. 37 19. Instances of civilian casualties from drone strikes include the following: (a) Analysis of classified data on United States drone strikes in Afghanistan in 2010–2011 reveals that drone strikes were 10 times more likely to cause civilian casualties than conventional air attacks;38 (b) Research conducted on Yemeni drone strikes from 2009 to 2014 shows that more than 80 per cent of all civilian deaths were caused by drones. 39 The data also underscore the human cost of incorrect intelligence. For example, 17 men in Yemen were targeted multiple times; the strikes killed 273 other people and accounted for almost half of all confirmed civilian casualties and 100 per cent of all recorded child deaths; 40 (c) In Pakistan in 2015, missed strikes targeting 24 men killed 874 other people, including 142 children, accounting for the 35 per cent of all confirmed civilian casualties involving Pakistani drone strikes;41 (d) Since 2017, civilian casualties have increased in central Yemen, southern Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic,42 including Mosul (allegedly 200 civilians), Aleppo (a mosque)43 and Raqqa (a school). Strikes have allegedly gone wrong in Afghanistan, 44 while in Somalia they have reportedly contributed to an increase in casualties. 45 20. Civilian harm caused by armed drone strikes extends far beyond killings, as many more people have been wounded by such strikes. 46 While the consequences of both armed and non-combat drones remain to be systematically studied, evidence shows that populations living under “drones’ persistent stare and noise experience generalized threat and daily terror”.47 The strain caused by the constant anticipation of a drone attack48 causes significant psychological harm, including post-traumatic stress disorder,49 cripples daily activities50 and creates largely unaccounted for socioeconomic burdens, particularly on women. 51 21. In armed conflicts, civilian casualties have been reduced through stronger coordination, improved data analysis, better training of drones’ operators and systematic evaluation of strikes.52 The 2018 protection of civilians strategy and concept of the North 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 https://civiliansinconflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PDF-Report-for-Website.pdf. Interviews with Camilla Molyneux and Aditi Gupta, April 2020. Interview with Lawrence Lewis, March 2020, who noted that the United States had taken steps to address risk factors in training and in their employment. He asked: “What kinds of issues will we see, and how long will they last, for other militaries now acquiring unmanned capabilities?” www.cna.org/cna_files/pdf/COP-2014-U-008746-Final.pdf, p. 32. https://reprieve.org/wp-content/uploads/2014_11_24_PUB-You-Never-Die-Twice-Multiple-Kills-inthe-US-Drone-Program-1.pdf. Ibid. https://airwars.org/news-and-investigations/shadow-american-war-syria/. https://airwars.org/news-and-investigations/unilateral-strike/. www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/afghanistan-shocking-disregard-for-civilians-as-us-dronestrike-adds-to-death-toll/. www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/us-military-shows-appalling-disregard-for-civilians-killedin-somalia-air-strike/. http://www.christopherjferguson.com/Drones.pdf. Ioannis Kalpouzos, “Armed drone”, in International Law’s Objects, Jessie Hohmann and Daniel Joyce, eds. (Oxford University Press, 2018). www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Stanford-NYU-Living-Under-Drones.pdf; www.christopherjferguson.com/Drones.pdf. www.christopherjferguson.com/Drones.pdf. www.files.ethz.ch/isn/196761/Drone%20Chic%20Briefing%20April%202016.pdf; www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/living-in-terror-under-a-drone-filled-sky-inyemen/275373. Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, Gordon Clubb and Simon Mabon, eds., Terrorism and Political Violence (Sage Publications, 2016). https://aoav.org.uk/2020/protecting-medical-care-in-conflict-a-solvable-problem/. 7