ICCT Summer Programme: Targeted Killings and the Use of Drones as a Counter-Terrorism Measure.
By Mr. Mark Singleton, Director International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT)
In January 2015, an American drone strike killed to two al Qaeda hostages, American citizen Mr. Warren Weinstein and Italian Mr. Giovanni Lo Porto. This caused the Obama administration to disclose more information about the killings, showing that the responsible senior official authorised the attack without knowing who exactly was in the targeted compound and surrounding areas. This made clear once more that there is a risk in the use of drones caused by the gap between the intelligence and technology used and the reality on the ground. The killings raised questions about the effectiveness and legality of the use of drones and targeted killings in countering terrorism.
These questions and issues will be addressed during the Summer Programme on Countering Terrorism in different sessions. The effectiveness of this counter-terrorism tool will be discussed, along with how it fits into different (international) legal frameworks and what the position of EU Member States is on the use of drones. These sessions will be provided by Dr. Eric Pouw (Netherlands Defense Academy) and Ms. Jessica Dorsey (Asser Instituut) who both have done extensive research on the topic.
From 24 – 28 August 2015, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT) and the T.M.C. Asser Instituut are organising the Fifth Advanced Summer Programme on “Countering Terrorism: Legal Challenges and Dilemmas”. The objective of this unique Summer Programme is to explore the theoretical and more practical questions of the legality of many counter-terrorism strategies and measures. Two study visits to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Eurojust are included in the course. The programme is tailored towards policy-makers from the international, national and local level working on CT issues, as well as other CT professionals working at think-and-do tanks, international organisations, universities and the criminal justice sector, who want to expand their knowledge of the underlying legal tenets and dilemmas in CT. It should be noted that a legal background for this course is desirable but not required.
A draft agenda for the programme is available on ICCT’s website, along with further information on the registration and other logistics. For further questions, please contact educationtraining@asser.nl.
