PerspectiveWhat Can Drones Do to Protect Civilians in Armed Conflict?

Drones are usually in the news for bad reasons, like controversial killings of suspected terrorists in the Middle East, bombings of Saudi oil facilities or an assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Michael Yekple writes in The Conversation that what many people may not know is that United Nations peacekeepers use drones to protect civilians from violence. These drones are different: They don’t carry weapons.

He writes:

I have followed the U.N.‘s use of drones since its beginning in 2013 and have spoken with peacekeepers and U.N. officers who are familiar with their use. I believe drones have the potential to save lives.

But that doesn’t mean they necessarily will.

There are many problems associated with using drones in peace-keeping missions, but Yekple writes:

All these problems don’t mean drones are useless at protecting civilians. For instance, U.N. drones discovered armed groups smuggling gold believed to be providing funding for the armed groups and their activities. That was news to the U.N., and authorities stopped the smuggling. Drones also helped save 14 people in Democratic Republic of Congo after their boat capsized.

I believe these efforts and others aimed at preventing violence could be more effective with more support from U.N. member nations. In recent years, though, wealthy countries have slashed their contributions to the U.N. peacekeeping budget and reduced the number of soldiers they’ll send on missions. That has left peacekeeping missions to do their work with ill-equipped, poorly trained soldiers from poor nations.