Use Of Drones in Armed Conflict and Compliance with International Humanitarian Law

Abstract

States across the worldwide are emerging technologies designed for contemporary warfare. The modern world adopts new technologies in which the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are among these developments. Continuously, the use of drone is expending beyond traditional functions such as surveillance, intelligence collection, and reconnaissance to target minorities and carrying out precision attacks. This research examines the legal framework governing the use of drones in armed conflict and assess the compliance of drone operations with fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and propose recommendation for strengthen legal accountability and civilian protection. This study argues that the use of drone, in war legally or ethically, heightened concerns under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. This research adopts a doctrinal and qualitative legal research methodology, primary sources include international treaties such as Geneva Convention, Additional Protocols, and Customary International Law. Secondary sources consist of scholarly articles, books report by international organizations and relevant case laws. The Conclusion explains that Under International Humanitarian Law, the legal ambiguities concerned with drone warfare poise fundamental threats so the attack of armed must be identified in which civilians must be separated and if civilians are targeted and high civilian causalities happened, in this situation, the main principles of IHL, distinction and necessity will be violated which are central to IHL.

Keywords: Drone Warfare, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Armed Conflicts, Autonomous Weapons, Legal Accountability.