BU Research Blog

Sascha-Dominik Bachmann, Associate Professor, Dep Law, EBC, addressed this year’s NATO JAPCC Joint Air & Space Power Conference 2013 – Air Power Post-Afghanistan.

 JAPCC’s annual Conference provided a forum for critical discussion of themes arising from military Air Power and the ramifications of the anticipated 2014 cessation of NATO-led combat operations. The Conference was organized by the Joint Air Power Competence Centre and led by Air Marshal David Walker, RAF (http://www.japcc.de/fileadmin/user_upload/events/Conference/2013/2013-03-25-JAPCC_Conf_2013_Flyer_web.pdf).

 Sascha reflected on the legal and moral issues arising from Targeted killing by drones (using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Unmanned Combat Aircraft Systems (UCAS) as weapon platforms) which has become an increasingly debated subject. Criticism is not only directed against its overall legality and legitimacy, but also its negative impact on the theatre state as a sovereign state in cases of extraterritorial strikes, a potential lack of efficiency, and a growing uneasiness with its morality. It seems there has been a change in how targeted killing is viewed. Apart from a growing discomfort with civilian ‘collateral’ casualties, there is growing concern about its effectiveness and the acceptance of targeted killing as a new form of warfare. Ben Emmerson, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism, has called for more transparency and accountability when employing this form of warfare. – See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2013/06/drone-targeted-killings-pil/#sthash.Kky1JmWv.dpuf