PHOTO: FILE
In her statement on the opening day of the 23rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Pillay said she was "profoundly disturbed at the human rights implications of the use of armed drones in the context of counter-terrorism and military operations".
The High Commissioner’s statement echoed Pakistan's long held position that drone strikes are counter-productive.
Ambassador Zamir Akram, Pakistan Permanent Representative to the UN, reiterated this point in his statement and said that Pakistan has been making a similar argument for many years.
The ambassador stated, “We have heard statements revising such tactics but we have heard such claims before - only to be negated by contrary actions.”
He went on to make a reference to the recent judgement passed by the Peshawar High Court, terming the use of drones to be a violation of international law and Pakistan’s sovereignty.
The High Commissioner also criticised the failure of the US to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center and said that "measures that violate human rights did not uproot terrorism; they nurture it".
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@numbersnumbers: but if we kill just like them than we are no better if you want to fight a war than fight it not with joy sticks. the innocent that have died over these strikes is over a quarter of the kills buy drones that is expectable to you? if there own country wants to do it than let them but we as Americans should not take any part killing with drones we are violating international law and the Geneva Convention. the difference between b-52's and drones is the b-52's fall under the rules and drones killing do not so yah send the b-52's and fallow the rules we set in place or be just like them.
UNHCR chief can feel as much disturbed as she wishes. USA has the world's most powerful military and controls the world's reserve currency. It does not care about UNO let alone UNHCR chief.
@numbersnumbers: Don't get so cocky about Americans using B-52s for carpet bombings, they have done it in Vietnam but the net result we saw on TV, what happened in Vietnam. The International Red Cross and now The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay has questioned the legality of drone attacks but Obama armed with the Nobel Peace Prize has declared it legal. I wonder what will happen if the new government decides to shoot them down in Pakistan's territory, any sovereign nation with pride would have done it long time ago
@Kamran: I believe that when the Pakistani military conducts operations against the "bad Taliban" inside Pakistan, there are numerous people killed "without due process"! When the government forces are in a pitched battle with militants/Taliban, there is not a court standing by (with a jury and defense lawyers) to decide which of the enemy it is OK to kill! Drone strikes are a symptom of the fact that there are parts of the world where the writ of the state does not exist (FATA?) and as such invite such actions to kill terrorists/commanders openly residing in their safe havens! As for "the difference", the TTP/militants have slaughtered some 30,000 plus Pakistanis (and maimed probably twice that number) of the last decade or so ON PURPOSE! The Americans use precision weapons to try and minimize collateral damage, for if they didn't care they would just send in the B-52s and just carpet bomb the whole target area!
A handful of socalled liberals who are working on a covert cessationist agenda have got blood on their hands for advocating drone attacks on Pakistan's soil, specially that Muslim female pseudowriter, now turned Christian who lives in Norway and her types. They will now oppose UN for declaring drone strikes inhuman. Rejects.
I am glad that she finally heard about drones but the question is what she is doing beside making those statements. Forget about puppet UN or its forums, can she get a resolution passed against use of drones by EU?
every decent human being in the world is concerned about use of drones to kill people without due process. terrorists kill anyone who doesnt fall in line and they kill indiscriminately. if states start killing people without separating innocent from the guilty and without due process then what is the difference between the two.