New Draft on Drone Export Rules ‘More Problematic’ Than Original

By Rachel Stohl: 

Last month, Defense News broke the story of US efforts to negotiate a joint declaration for the export and subsequent use of armed, or “strike-enabled,” drones. Now, a revised version of the declaration is circulating and sources report it will be launched in early October at the United Nations. 

However, this new US draft, shared with me by foreign diplomats, is more problematic than the original. 

While the revised version is similar in content to the original draft presented to governments last month — and contains five principles for the export and subsequent use of armed or strike-enabled unmanned aerial vehicles (a switch from the prior version’s use of unmanned aerial systems) — it contains nine noticeable additions and four rewrites of existing text. 

Read the full article in Defense News by clicking here.

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Rachel Stohl is a Senior Associate and Director of the Conventional Defense program at the Stimson Center.

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