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HUMANITARIAN DRONES z by JF Lepage, IFATCA Liaison ICAO ANC Over the past decade, the use of humanitarian drones has become widespread, and there is no indication that this trend will weaken in the near future1. On the contrary, multiple applications – whether we think of mapping affected areas or delivering materials to hard-to-reach locations4,1 – suggest an increase in the use of these remotely-piloted flying robots. However, these new technologies often develop outside of any ethical, legal or social framework1. For some, the added value brought by drones is undeniable; they bring with them the promise of faster, more effective, cheaper and closer assistance to those groups targeted by humanitarian aid. For others, they represent a threat to the dignity of those they are nevertheless supposed to serve: reduction of human interactions, absence of direct communication with humanitarian actors and lack of moral and ethical acceptability2. This article will first paint a portrait of the current use of drones in the humanitarian context, then outline the main advantages and disadvantages that the technology can offer, to finally propose a set of recommendations to frame their responsible and ethical use. Several terms compete in the field of drones: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS). For the purposes of this article, we will use the term “drone” without distinction, as many NGOs and the UN have retained it for simplicity. In addition, we will retain the definition of Wynsberghe and Comes (2020): "an aircraft operated without a pilot on board". Several authors place the first uses of humanitarian drones in 2006, when they were used for the first time in peacekeeping missions in the 1 Wang, N., Christen, M., & Hunt, M. (2021). Ethical Considerations Associated with “Humanitarian Drones”: A Scoping Literature Review. Science and Engineering Ethics, 27, 51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-021-00327-4 2 Van Wynsberghe, A., & Comes, T. (2020). Drones in humanitarian contexts, robot ethics, and the human– robot interaction. Ethics and Information Technology, 22, 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-019-09514-1
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Democratic Republic of Congo3. In 2010, they were used to map areas where victims had moved, in the wake of the earthquake that affected Haiti4. They subsequently became widely democratized, in particular through various logistics operations during Typhoon Hainan in the Philippines in 2013, for the delivery of medical equipment in West Africa during the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and to carry out topographic mapping of earthquakeaffected areas in Nepal in 20151. Nowadays, several NGOs make use of these aircraft – we can notably cite Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UNICEF, USAID, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the World Bank1. It should be noted, however, that in addition to these civil organizations, it is mainly military applications that have democratized the use of drones – we are therefore talking about dual use, with both military and peaceful vocations5. The use of humanitarian drones brings its share of advantages. They can be launched with a 12 hour-notice or less, travel distances of several thousand kilometres and remain in flight for more than 30 hours6. Their use presents 3 Karlsrud, J., & Rosén, F. (2013). In the eye of the beholder? UN and the use of drones to protect 4 Evanthia, T., Costas, T., Evika, K., Georgios, B., Andreas, P., Eleni, K., & Emmanuel P. (2019). Reflecting upon the humanitarian use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Swiss Medical Weekly, (13). https://doi.org/10.4414/ smw.2019.20065 5 Sandvik, K.B., & Lohne, K. (2014). The Rise of the Humanitarian Drone: Giving Content to an Emerging Concept. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 43(1), 145–164. DOI: 10.1177/0305829814529470 6 Houstoun, W. (2013). Managing Natural Disasters, Protecting Endangered Species, And Enhancing Our Knowledge: Proof That Drones Can Do Good http://www. tankthoughts.com/
incredible opportunities that combine technological advances and assistance to the most vulnerable7 . The Secretary General of the United Nations also noted in 2016 that to achieve its objectives, the humanitarian sector shall, in the future, promote innovation in all its diversity8 (United Nations, 2016). For Chow9, this new entrant changes the game by presaging a reduction in corruption, theft and insecurity during logistics operations. Furthermore, Dorn10 argues that on-board technology could potentially be used for peacekeeping missions to detect the movement of armed persons, thus helping to prevent mass atrocities as well as arms and human beings trafficking. Drones offer certain possibilities that even the best organized NGOs cannot envisage: an unprecedented view of areas affected, thanks to rapid surveys from high above, allowing the collection of quality visual data in real time, facilitating the location of sources of drinking water, hazardous debris areas, displaced populations, damaged buildings and data on the state of transport networks4. Some models are even equipped with ultra-sensitive sensors to detect the heart rate and breathing of a person buried under piles of debris. Others are equipped with receivers to detect cell phone emissions. Finally, some versions are specially designed for the transport of 7 Choi-Fitzpatrick, A. (2014). Drones for good: Technological innovations, social movements, and the State. Journal of International Affairs, 68(1). https://search.proquest. com/openview/468bc87b04291e1f45ff0f60f9edf97b/1? pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41938 8 United Nations. (2016). Agenda for Humanity. http://www. un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53503#.WjD-sEIVIUk 9 Chow, J. (2012). Predators for peace. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/04/27/predators-forpeace/ 10 Dorn, A.W. (2011). Keeping Watch: Monitoring, Technology and Innovation in UN Peace Operations. Tokyo: UN University Press
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