Pakistan calls for end to drone hits, as UN debated protection of children's rights

UNITED NATIONS: Taking note of a UN report about increasing child casualties in the course of military operations using armed drones over a period of 10 years, Pakistan has called for an end to such attacks on its soil to avert more deaths and injuries.

"The use of armed drones in the border areas of Pakistan is a continued violation of our sovereignty and international humanitarian and human rights law," Ambassador Masood Khan told the General Assembly's third (Social, Humanitarian and cultural) Committee.

Speaking in a debate on the "Promotion and Protection of Rights of Children, the Pakistani ambassador recalled the UN Secretary-General's report stating that child casualties had multiplied over the past decade in the course of military operations using armed drones. The UN chief had also emphasized that drone strikes directly affected the psychological well-being of children and their families, as well as their economic situations and educational opportunities.

"(The use of armed drones) alienates affected population, fuels disaffection and spurs reprisals against civilians," Masood Khan said.

In this context, he also recalled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's call in the General Assembly last month for the cessation of the drone strikes in order to avert further casualties.

Meanwhile, Ben Emmerson, UN special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, is set to present his report about the impact of drone strikes on Friday. Ahead of his formal submission of the report, he said that over two thousand people living in Pakistan have been killed by drone strikes in the past decade.

Of the 2,200 dead, 400 were civilians and an additional 200 victims were deemed "probable non-combatants", he said.

He urged the United States to release its own data on the number of civilian casualties caused by its drone strikes.