Group Warns Drone Users Violating Laws of War [View All]

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Source: CBS

As the Obama administration ramped up its use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, in the fight against Islamic militants on foreign soil, questions of legality and the rules of modern warfare became inevitable. The Pentagon now has 7,000 drones -- up from less than 50 in 2001 -- and the long-term consequences and benefits are yet to be determined.

Several rounds of questions have been raised by U.N. Special Envoys, particularly the Special Envoy for Extrajudicial Killings, about whether noncombatants (a CIA employee, for example) are covered by the laws of war (the Geneva Conventions).

A report released Thursday by the Oxford Research Group, an independent London think-tank, concludes that all parties involved in drone attacks are legally obligated to search for and identify all persons killed in such strikes.

Other requirements, according to the scholars' examination of current international law, include establishing official graves and a registration service for the dead.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20073609-503543.html#ixzz1Q7ERkIA5

Oxford Research Group Report here: http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers_and_reports/discussion_paper_2