European nations responsible for aiding US drone strikes: Amnesty

Amnesty International has warned that the European countries assisting the United States with its lethal drone program could be held accountable for the unlawful and indiscriminate massacre it perpetrated.

The London-based rights organization issued the warning in a weekly report published on Friday, addressing long-held concerns over the use of UAVs by the US to kill people throughout the world.

The report said the killer drone program had led to numerous civilian deaths, some of which may amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions, as the controversial move lacked a clear legal justification and was shrouded in secrecy.

The European countries that contribute essential assistance to the program should evaluate whether their help makes them complicit in such killings and work to make the program more transparent to public scrutiny, according to Amnesty.

The assistance, as the report indicated, includes providing data for authorities in Washington to choose targets, and hosting essential infrastructure required for conducting drone attacks.

“The USA relies heavily on assistance from many States, including European States. The United Kingdom (UK), Germany, the Netherlands and Italy have played a significant role in supporting the US’s lethal operations, including its drone program,” Amnesty International said.

The rights group warned that the four nations could be made responsible under international law for whatever violations the US has committed with their help.

“Given the well-known and serious concerns regarding the US lethal drone program’s compliance with international law, providing material or intelligence support to US strikes could mean that the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy are responsible for assisting in potentially unlawful US drone operations and may have violated their own obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” the report said.

SS