Guidelines for the Use of Armed Drones under International Humanitarian Law
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article examines the use of armed drones in extraterritorial counterterrorism operations within the framework of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), particularly the principle of Jus in Bello, which focuses on the conduct of hostilities. The objective is to analyze the legality and legitimacy of using drones in such a manner, especially regarding respecting human rights and the principles of necessity and proportionality. The article analyzed various case studies, including the United States' use of drones in Pakistan, Iraq, and Somalia. It was found that while drones were effective in eliminating terrorists, they also raised several legal and ethical concerns such as violations of other states' sovereignty, civilian casualties, and transparency in decision-making regarding strikes. The findings suggest that using armed drones in counterterrorism is complex and must consider multiple factors, including international law, ethical principles, and national security. Armed drone use should therefore be conducted cautiously and transparently, in compliance with the principles of International Humanitarian Law, and to avoid unintended consequences for civilians and other countries.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Journal of TCI is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence, unless otherwise stated. Please read our Policies page for more information...
References
M. D. Evans, International Law. Oxford, NY, USA: Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 316 - 317, 822 - 824.
Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs. “International Humanitarian Law.” TREATIES.mfa.go.th. https://treaties.mfa.go.th/th/content/กฎหมายมนุุษยธรรมระหว่างประเทศ (accessed Dec. 21, 2024). (in Thai)
P. Amornratananunuparp, “The U.S. President and the Counter-Terrorism Mission: ‘Mission (not) Accomplished’,” Lakmuang J., vol. 31, no. 372, pp. 48 - 51, Mar. 2022. (in Thai)
J. Kaag and S. Kreps, Drone Warfare. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2014.
Swiss National Science Foundation. “Preventive Drone Attacks Based on Digital Traces are a Grey Aarea under International Law.” SNF.ch. https://www.snf.ch/en/
oU4DAR5dvuHtbQ1y/news/preventive-drone-attacks-based-on-digital-traces-are-a-grey-area-under-international-law (accessed Oct. 1, 2024).
B. Orend, The Morality of War. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press, 2006.
B. Strauss. “Preemptive Strikes and Preventive Wars: A Historian’s Perspective.” HOOVER.org. https://www.hoover.org/research/preemptive-strikes-and-preventive-wars-historians-perspective (accessed Dec. 19, 2024).
K. Charoenraj, “The Concept of Proportionality: A Study of Development of Legal Principle and Applications by U.S. Supreme Court and German Constitutional Court,” M.S. thesis, Dept. Public Law, Thammasat Univ., Bangkok, Thailand, 2017.
P. Gray, Air Warfare: History, Theory and Practice. NY, USA: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.
United Nations Human Rights (UNHR). “Security Council Unanimously Adopts Wide-ranging Anti-Terrorism Resolution; Calls for Suppressing Financing, Improving International Cooperation.” OHCHR.org. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2009/10/security-council-unanimously-adopts-wide-ranging-anti-terrorism-resolution#:~:text=By resolution 1373 (2001) the,on all States to report (accessed Dec. 19, 2024).
J. A. Schwartz and M. Fuhrmann. “Do Armed Drones Reduce Terrorism? Here’s the Data.” WASHINGTONPOST.com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/18/drone-alqaeda-terrorist-attack/ (accessed Dec. 21, 2024).
International Bar Association. “The Legality of Armed Drones under International Law.” IBANET.org. https://shorturl.asia/CncgB (accessed Dec. 19, 2024).
R. Brooks, “Drones and the International Rule of Law,” Ethics Int. Aff., vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 83 - 103, 2014, doi: 10.1017/S0892679414000070.
B. Riedel. “Drone Strikes and the U.S. - Pakistan Relationship.” BROOKINGS.edu. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/drone-strikes-and-the-u-s-pakistan-relationship/ (accessed Dec. 19, 2024).
Statista. "Minimum Number of People Killed by U.S. Drone Strikes Carried Out under CIA Command in Pakistan from 2004 to April 2020." STATISTA.com. https://www.statista.com/statistics/428663/casualties-from-us-drone-strikes-in-pakistan/ (accessed Apr. 30, 2025).
CNN. "US Drone Strike Ordered by Trump Kills Top Iranian Commander in Baghdad." CNN.com. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html (accessed Apr. 30, 2025).
