23 October 2014

UN expert: Growing use of drones in law enforcement may violate human rights

In presenting his report on the use of armed drones within law enforcement, Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, stressed that such mechanised systems, controlled by a human from a distance, ‘can hardly do what police officers are supposed to do’, such as using the minimum force required by the circumstances. ‘The situation becomes even more problematic when the police use increasingly autonomous weapons – that is, weapons that have on board computers which decide on the use of force,’ Mr. Heyns continued. ‘The decreased personal involvement of police officers in the deployment of force raises the question, among others, of who is responsible if things go wrong.’ (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | Growing use of drones in law enforcement may violate human rights, warns UN expert