Abstract
In these days economic and political pressures push for the deployment of drones’ technology in civil and commercial domains. This chapter focuses in particular on the deployment of drones in the context of border surveillance. Border surveillance is a shared competence between the European Union, through its dedicated agency Frontex, and the Member States. The aim of the chapter is to challenge the humanitarian rationale presented to defend the choice of deploying drones in this ambit and to assess whether this humanitarian rationale is embedded into a legal framework, policy and practice oriented toward the protection of the human lives and the activation of search and rescue (S.A.R.) responsibilities of the relevant actors. The key research question is whether the deployment of drones will make Fortress Europe more human, whether it is geared at saving human lives or whether it is aimed at strengthening the intelligence dimension of border surveillance. In order to answer the research questions, the chapter will, first, present the emergence of the civilian drone, and second, will embed the chapter into a theoretical framework, placing border surveillance within the context of securitization, with the technological turn it has acquired in the last years. The chapter will then focus on the EUROSUR Regulation and its enforcement, aiming at achieving a total surveillance of the borders of the Union, through the so-called 24/7 blue-green situational awareness. It will then discuss the EU and Member States Search and Rescue obligations, also in light of recent problematic cases, before focusing on a case of deployment of drones in border surveillance, in Mare Nostrum. All in all, the last developments, in the practice and the legal infrastructure, point to increasing the surveillance capacities of the EU, namely of its dedicated agency Frontex, by further developing its intelligence capacity, through new means and technological tools.
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Notes
- 1.
While it is reported that also Russia engaged in targeted killings, it is not clear to me whether this has happened using drones. See U.N. General Assembly, 14th Session. “Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston (A/HRC/14/24/Add.6).” 28 May 2010, p. 8–9, at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.24.Add6.pdf. Accessed 13 February 2015.
- 2.
Alston 2010.
- 3.
Marin 2016.
- 4.
See, for instance, U.N. General Assembly, 17th Session. “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue (A/HRC/17/27).” May 16, 2011, p. 4, at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/17session/A.HRC.17.27_en.pdf. Accessed February 13, 2015. The Report states that ‘(…) the recent wave of demonstrations in countries across the Middle East and North African region has shown the key role that the Internet can play in mobilizing the population to call for justice, equality, accountability and better respect for human rights. As such, facilitating access to the Internet for all individuals, with as little restriction to online content as possible, should be a priority for all States.’
- 5.
European RPAS Steering Group 2013, Annex 3, p. 29.
- 6.
Besters and Brom 2010.
- 7.
Marin 2011.
- 8.
Guild et al. 2008.
- 9.
There are obvious economical advantages: mutualisation.
- 10.
- 11.
Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 15, 2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union, OJ EU L 189/93 2014.
- 12.
Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 15,2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code).
- 13.
Boswell and Geddes 2011.
- 14.
Waever 1995.
- 15.
Bigo 2000.
- 16.
Balzacq 2008.
- 17.
Besters and Brom 2010.
- 18.
Marin 2011.
- 19.
European Commission 2011.
- 20.
Regulation (EU) No 1052/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 22, 2013 establishing the European Border Surveillance System (Eurosur), OJ EU L 295 2013.
- 21.
European Commission 2008b.
- 22.
European Commission 2008b, p. 1.
- 23.
MEDSEA 2006.
- 24.
BORTEC 2007.
- 25.
European Commission 2008b.
- 26.
EUROSUR Roadmap, http://www.statewatch.org/news/2010/oct/eu-com-2011-eurosur-roadmap.pdf. Accessed April 1, 2016.
- 27.
Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 15, 2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union, OJ EU L 189/93 2014.
- 28.
A provision on S.A.R. is now included in Article 9 of the Regulation 656/2014, but EUROSUR does not actually have a S.A.R. rationale.
- 29.
European Commission 2008a, p. 9.
- 30.
European Parliament and Council 2011.
- 31.
Frontex 2009.
- 32.
Trevisanut 2014.
- 33.
European Parliament and Council of Ministers 2014.
- 34.
- 35.
European Commission 2014, Communication from the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, a new era for aviation. Opening the aviation market to the civil use of remotely piloted aircraft systems in a safe and sustainable manner, COM(2014) 207 final, at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014DC0207&from=EN. Accessed January 31, 2015.
- 36.
European Parliament and Council of Ministers 2014.
- 37.
Cosimi 2014. And also http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/archiviovetrine_news/Pagine/10annidipredator10anniluceavanti.aspx. Accessed 10 June 2015.
- 38.
Shephard Media 2014.
- 39.
Cassarino 2011.
- 40.
McNamara 2013.
- 41.
Sometimes, a change of government in a single Member States means a change of policy in border surveillance.
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Marin, L. (2016). The Humanitarian Drone and the Borders: Unveiling the Rationales Underlying the Deployment of Drones in Border Surveillance. In: Custers, B. (eds) The Future of Drone Use. Information Technology and Law Series, vol 27. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-132-6_6
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