FROM AMY GOODMAN'S DEMOCRACY NOW
As U.S. Faces New Scrutiny on Drones, U.N. Report Finds Hundreds of Civilian Deaths in Pakistan
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Ben Emmerson, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, who has issued an interim report on his investigation into U.S. drone strikes and targeted killings.
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The Obama administration’s drone and targeted killing policy will come under scrutiny at the United Nations today with a report concluding at least 400 Pakistani civilians have been killed by drone strikes over the past decade. Another 200 victims have been deemed "probable non-combatants." The report also looks at U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, as well as Israel’s use of drones in Gaza. The U.N. report comes at a time when U.S. drone policy is facing unprecedented public criticism. Earlier this week, Amnesty International said some civilian drone killings in Pakistan may amount to war crimes. Human Rights Watch criticized U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. On Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged President Obama to end drone strikes in Pakistan. Ahead of unveiling his findings today at the United Nations General Assembly, Ben Emmerson, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, joins us to discuss his probe of the U.S. drone war.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZĂLEZ: The Obama administration’s drone and targeted killing policy will come under scrutiny today at the United Nations. The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism is scheduled to present a report that concludes at least 400 Pakistani civilians have been killed by U.S. drone strikes over the past decade. Another 200 victims have been deemed "probable non-combatants." The report also looks at U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, as well as Israel’s use of drones in Gaza.
The U.N. report comes at a time when U.S. drone policy is facing unprecedented public criticism. Earlier this week, Amnesty International said some drone killings in Pakistan may amount to war crimes. Human Rights Watch criticized U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. Then, on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged U.S. President Barack Obama to end drone strikes in Pakistan.
PRIME MINISTER NAWAZ SHARIF: Pakistan and the United States have a strong, ongoing counterterrorism cooperation. We have agreed to further strengthen this cooperation. I also brought up the issue of drones in our meeting, emphasizing the need for an end to such strikes.
AMY GOODMAN: During his public remarks with Nawaz Sharif, President Obama did not directly address the U.S. drone war.
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