The principle of constant care, prolonged drone surveillance and the right to privacy of non-combatants in armed conflicts

Watt, Eliza ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3903-8631 (2022) The principle of constant care, prolonged drone surveillance and the right to privacy of non-combatants in armed conflicts. In: The Right to Privacy and Data Protection in Times of Armed Conflict. Buchan, Russell and Lubin, Asaf, eds. NATO CCDCOE Publications, Tallinn, Estonia, pp. 157-180. ISBN 9789916956564, e-ISBN 9789916956571. [Book Section]

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Abstract

This chapter critically examines the impact of sustained drone surveillance on non-combatants in war zones and argues that legal constraints should be placed on this practice. It identifies a lacuna in the international humanitarian law (IHL) framework with respect to privacy and data protection rights and demonstrates that IHL and international human rights law (IHRL) apply concurrently in armed conflicts. Further, it contends that the IHRL rules on mass surveillance of communications pertain to this method of intelligence collection. The rationale for their application is the constant care principle set out in Article 57(1) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions 1949, as it places state parties under a continuous duty of care of civilian populations in regard to the whole spectrum of military operations, which must necessarily include intelligence gathering.

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