PKSOI/GLOBAL TRENDS CASE STUDIES A Drone's Strike Away | Page 18

Case Study #1118-08
PKSOI TRENDS GLOBAL CASE STUDY SERIES
However, improved situational awareness also increases decision pressures on commanders in the field. Typical peace-
keeping environments are characterized by the need to respond to frequent, smaller violent incidents. “More detailed
situational awareness will demand more comprehensive decision-making processes, affecting the responsibilities of offi-
cers. Peacekeepers will have less leeway for failing to respond to atrocities if knowledge is available in real time; this will
significantly lower the acceptance threshold for civilian casualties.” 141
Moreover, there are a number of other legal and practical concerns. First, the Laws of War specify that parties to an
armed conflict must distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian and military
targets. UAVs in the DRC are operated by civilian contractors who are not UN peacekeepers. Are those operators now
combatants, because they participate directly in combat operations and are open to enemy attack? In addition, drones
are considered dual-use technologies 142 and can be used equally for legitimate or malicious purposes, making compli-
ance with and enforcement of international law difficult. Finally, surveillance UAVs generate a lot of data, but who owns
that data and what should be done with the information gathered by UAVs? Who could and should have access to live
video streams? Who could and should have access to recorded streams?
To protect the integrity of UN peacekeeping, experts have called for effective regulation to ensure that any information
collected with UAVs remains the property of the UN alone. Karlsrud and Rosen argue that
drones can dramatically increase the general capability of a UN peacekeeping operation – improving access to
vulnerable populations, providing better information on potential threats to civilians, and increasing access to
information in cases where the UN must use force to protect civilians. Drones represent a new way of ‘seeing
and knowing’ in peacekeeping and can dramatically improve peacekeepers’ access to information. 143
As the acquisition and operation of drones becomes less expensive, non-governmental organizations such as human
rights or aid groups may use drones themselves or may demand that they be included in any peacekeeping mission to
monitor humanitarian relief and human rights violations. Chicago Policy Review’s Songkhun Nillasithanukroh ex-
plains, “[g]overnments can be reluctant to send troops on peacekeeping missions for fear of political backlash from the
potential loss of human life. In contrast, politicians will likely not face intense political backlash if a drone is shot down.
This may encourage more governments to contribute to peacekeeping missions.” And he concludes:
Surveillance drones would prevent human rights violations by acting as outside observers in situations where
it is dangerous or costly for human monitors to be present. First, the presence of drones can deter risk-averse
violators from committing malicious acts due to a fear of being caught. And, indeed, previous research suggests
that crimes often occur when perpetrators think they will not be held accountable for their wrongdoings. Sec-
ond, even if the presence of drones fails to deter human right abuses, the information gathered by drones can
make it easier to identify and prosecute perpetrators. 144
On the flipside, however, as the technology becomes more widely available, it also becomes more widely available to in-
surgents and criminals. Warns RTI’s Joe Eyerman, “Counter-drone technologies are becoming increasingly important as
criminals develop applications for smuggling and terrorism. Counter-drone work needs to consider more than just the
technical solutions, it needs to include the strategic element and recognize that the criminals are adjusting their strate-
gies to counter our technologies.” 145
Eventually, Karlsrud and Rosen argue, “the UN will need to recognize that opting not to use drones could indeed some-
day be considered a breach of IHL [International Humanitarian Law].” 146
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