Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 November 2013
97. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he accepts the destabilising effect of the use of armed drones; and if Ireland will take an international position on campaigning to end the use of armed drones. [48970/13]
View answerIreland has consistently taken the view that combating terrorism must be conducted in full respect of international law, in particular the law of armed conflict and human rights law. In line with the UN Global Strategy on Counter Terrorism, effective counter terrorism and the protection and promotion of human rights are mutually reinforcing and not competing goals. This means that human rights law must apply, including the prohibition on extrajudicial killings, outside of an armed conflict situation where international humanitarian law is applicable.
Ireland welcomes the recent reports of UN Special Rapporteurs, Professor Christof Heyns and Ben Emerson, which looked at the use of armed drones from the perspective of the use of lethal force and their impact on civilians. Ireland accepts the findings of these reports which include the view that the established international legal framework for the use of force – international human rights law, international humanitarian law and inter-State force – constitutes an adequate framework for regulating the use of drones.
Any indiscriminate use of armed drones would clearly be contrary to international law. Every effort must be made to avoid civilian casualties and I am deeply concerned by instances where civilians have been killed by attacks using armed drones. However, an international agreement to prohibit the use of armed drones is unlikely. The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross has recently stated that under international humanitarian law, "drones are not expressly prohibited, nor are they considered to be inherently indiscriminate or perfidious. In this respect, they are no different from weapons launched from manned aircraft such as helicopters or other combat aircraft."
