Abstract
My background paper for Special Rapporteur, Ben Emmerson, shows that using drones for targeted killing runs a heightened risk of civilian casualties because of the radically asymmetrical context in which drones operate. The heightened risk of civilian casualties together with the advanced capacity to avoid them places a very high ethical burden on those who would employ drones for targeted killing. Due to the circumstances and risks attendant to targeted killing with drones, armed forces using drones away from “hot battlefields” should commit to a zero-tolerance policy for civilian death.