US urged to apologise for civilians killed by drones

Published April 25, 2015
On Thursday, President Obama acknowledged for the first time that the US had inadvertently killed an American citizen, Warren Weinstein, and an Italian, Giovanni Lo Porto, in January this year.  — Reuters/file
On Thursday, President Obama acknowledged for the first time that the US had inadvertently killed an American citizen, Warren Weinstein, and an Italian, Giovanni Lo Porto, in January this year. — Reuters/file

WASHINGTON: Two influential rights groups — Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union — urged the United States on Friday to be more transparent about its drone strikes.

In a statement issued in Washington, Naureen Shah, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security and Human Rights programme, urged US President Barack Obama to apologise for all civilians killed in drone attacks.

On Thursday, President Obama acknowledged for the first time that the US had inadvertently killed an American citizen, Warren Weinstein, and an Italian, Giovanni Lo Porto, in January this year.

Read: Obama apologises for hostage deaths in Pak-Afghan border strike

The president’s “demonstration of transparency is a welcome step, but apology and redress should be available for all civilians killed in US drone strikes, not just US citizens and Europeans,” said Ms Shah.

“The US government could be just as transparent about the hundreds of other drone strikes it has conducted in Pakistan and Yemen.”

The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday’s disclosures “raise troubling questions” about the reliability of the intelligence that the government was relying on to justify drone strikes.

“In each of the operations acknowledged on Thursday, the US quite literally didn’t know who it was killing.”

The deaths of these and other civilians “make clear that there is a significant gap between the relatively stringent standards the government says it’s using and the standards that are actually being used”, said Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU’s deputy legal director.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...