Statement on Targeted Killings | Columbia Law School

Human Rights Clinic Submits Statements to Senate on Targeted Killings

The Human Rights Clinic is urging Congress to assess the humanitarian and strategic costs of drone warfare. In April, it submitted two statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee for its hearing, "Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killings."

In a statement by former Associate Director for HRI's Counterterrorism & Human Rights Project Naureen Shah, the Clinic recommended that Congress consider the unintended and destabilizing political impact of drone strikes in countries where they occur, including Pakistan and Yemen. The Clinic also cautioned against accepting drone warfare as an “open secret,” emphasizing that policymakers and the public continue to be denied basic and important information about who is being killed in drone strikes and to what effect. 

In a joint statement submitted with nine human rights groups, the Clinic and its partners urged the U.S. to ensure that drone strikes do not violate international law and that steps are taken to investigate and address civilian harm from strikes. 

Read the Clinic's statement

Read the joint statement with human rights groups

Learn about the Clinic's research on drone warfare