Nia Griffith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what safeguards are deployed to prevent a sensor-fused munition operating in automatic mode from confusing a military target with a civilian target.

Mr Philip Dunne

The targeting process, not the weapon, takes discrimination, proportionality and precautions in attack into account. The decision whether to use lethal force against a legitimate military target is made through a rigorous targeting process, the targeting directive for a specific theatre of operations and rules of engagement which ensure adherence to international humanitarian law.

Since 1999, when the requirement to do so under the Geneva Conventions Additional Protocol I Article 36 came into effect for the UK, all new weapons, means and methods of warfare entering service have been subjected to a review in order to ensure they are capable of being used lawfully in armed conflict. The UK is committed to upholding the Geneva Conventions and encourages others to do the same.