Congressional Progressive Caucus: On Drones, Human RIghts Must Be a Priority

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 28, 2014

Press Contacts:

Adam Sarvana (Grijalva) – (202) 225-2435

Mike Casca (Ellison) – (202) 225-4755

CPC CO-CHAIRS CALL FOR CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT ON DRONES: HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE A PRIORITY

WASHINGTON — Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) released the following statement after a vote by the United Nations Human Rights Council on the use of drones:

“Today’s vote at the United Nations reinforces the need for greater oversight of the U.S. drone program. Instead of working closely with the international community to help strengthen current international standards on the use of drones, the U.S. government decided to boycott a discussion of the draft resolution. We are troubled by the ease with which dialogue and diplomacy—values at the center of the president’s foreign policy—were cast aside in this debate.

“Our national security would be stronger with international standards regarding the use of drones. No country has a monopoly on armed drone technology. As of 2011, 76 nations had drone technology of some kind. It is clearly in our interest to help establish the norms and rules that will govern the use of drones by all nations in the future.

“Similarly, it’s important to ensure that the American people and our allies understand the legal justification and on-the-ground impact of our drone policy. The current lack of transparency harms our relationships with other countries and erodes our ability to collaborate on key global security issues.

“Today’s vote highlights the need for Congress to play a larger role in overseeing and regulating the use of lethal force abroad. Requiring that our intelligence agencies provide an annual public accounting of the number of civilian casualties caused by drone strikes overseas—a measure included in the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act —would be a good start.

“Members of the CPC are ready to work with our colleagues and the administration to ensure that our policies are transparent, compliant with existing international law, and beneficial to our long-term national security.”

The Congressional Progressive Caucus held a hearing on drones in May of last year, the first such hearing on the topic. You can learn more about it at http://1.usa.gov/1dqTR5Y. 

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