LONDON (24 January 2012) - UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Ben Emmerson QC will be formally launching an Inquiry into the civilian impact of the use of drones and other forms of targeted killing, focusing on the applicable legal framework, a critical examination of the factual evidence concerning civilian casualties, with a view to making recommendations to the UN General Assembly concerning the duty of States to conduct effective independent and impartial investigations into the lawfulness and proportionality of such attacks.
The Inquiry will be publicly launched at a press conference this Thursday, 24 January 2013, to be held at Matrix Chambers, Griffin Building, Grays Inn, London WC1R 5LN. The Special Rapporteur will make a statement setting out the aims and objectives of the Inquiry, its modalities and time-frame.
He will also announce the names of the experts and other personnel who are to be involved in the Inquiry.
For more information and media requests please contact: Ms. Claudia Gross on +41 22 917 9184 or at srct@ohchr.org