The United States has withheld its comment on UN special rapporteur’s conclusion that American drone operations in tribal areas violate Pakistani sovereignty as an official said Washington has been in touch with the world body’s envoy. At the same time, a White House spokesman stressed the point that the United States works closely with its key anti-terror partner.
“I can tell you that our administration is aware of (UN special rapporterur) Mr. (Ben) Emmerson’s report. But at this point, I don’t have a specific comment on either intelligence operations or any military operations,” Josh Earnest, Principal Deputy Press Secretary at the White House, said.
“We have a solid working relationship with them on a range of issues, including a close cooperative security relationship. And we’re in touch with them on a regular basis on those issues, particularly the ones that relate to security,” he added, when asked to comment on Emmerson’s finding on drone operations the US carries out regularly to target terrorism suspects in tribal areas along the Afghan border. The spokesman disclosed that the Obama administration is in contact with Emmerson and would carefully consider any requests the UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism makes of it on the issue. “At this point, we’re going to withhold judgment on the actual report. But we’re in touch with Mr. Emmerson, and if there are requests for information that are made of the administration, then we’ll carefully consider those requests.”
The spokesman was also asked to comment on the issue in light of the administration’s earlier claim that it did not see drone strikes as violation of the key South Asian country’s sovereignty. “Again, I want to withhold judgment on the actual report in terms of the claims that they’re making. I just want to leave it — reiterating for you that we do have an open, ongoing dialogue with Pakistan on a whole range of issues, and including a close, cooperative security relationship,” the spokesman said. In his finding, UN special rapporteur concluded that “as a matter of international law, the US drone campaign in Pakistan is … being conducted without the consent of the elected representatives of the people or the legitimate government of the state.” Emmerson, who is British and has been investigating the impact of US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas on the civilian population, is expected to issue a final report to the United Nations in October. The drone campaign “involves the use of force on the territory of another state without its consent and is therefore a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty,” Emmerson conclude, according to a statement.
