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For Immediate Release
February, 27 2014, 08:13am EDT
Contact:
Alice Gillham in Reprieve’s press office: +44 (0) 207 553 8160 / alice.gillham@reprieve.org.uk
MEPs Vote in Landslide for Ban on Covert Drone Strikes
The European Parliament today overwhelmingly condemned the covert drone strikes that have killed thousands of civilians in countries such as Pakistan and Yemen.
In a vote this morning, a majority of 534 to 49 MEPs supported a resolution demanding that EU Member States "do not perpetrate unlawful targeted killings or facilitate such killings by other states", and calling on them to "oppose and ban practices of extra judicial targeted killings."
LONDON
The European Parliament today overwhelmingly condemned the covert drone strikes that have killed thousands of civilians in countries such as Pakistan and Yemen.
In a vote this morning, a majority of 534 to 49 MEPs supported a resolution demanding that EU Member States "do not perpetrate unlawful targeted killings or facilitate such killings by other states", and calling on them to "oppose and ban practices of extra judicial targeted killings."
Today's vote will put further pressure on countries such as the UK and Germany to disclose the full extent of their involvement in the covert US programme, both through intelligence-sharing and the provision of infrastructure at US airbases on their soil.
The resolution, sponsored by the Green group of MEPs with cross-party support, also notes that:
- "drone strikes by a State on the territory of another State without the consent of the latter constitute a violation of international law and of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of that country"
- "thousands of civilians have reportedly been killed or seriously injured by drone strikes [but] these figures are difficult to estimate, owing to lack of transparency and obstacles to effective investigation"
- "drone strike policies have been documented as causing considerable harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians in the countries concerned, including deep anxiety and psychological trauma, disruption of economic and social activities and reduced access to education among affected communities."
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
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