459 Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada Autonomous weapons systems, drones and international law There are also those who, accepting the premise that autonomous weapons systems can comply with IHL with even greater precision than human beings, and considering that this area of international law currently in force neither envisages nor presumes the complexity of these new weapons, call for this body of law to be adapted to this new reality and for it to regulate the use of these lethal autonomous robots. In so doing, deployment of these weapons would conform to the reformed legal parameters in force and prevent impunity41. It should be noted in any case that this last position, like the first, requires prior study of all available options. All the same, the authors believe that the proposal put forward by the Special Rapporteur is the most advisable. Since, without ruling out any positive impact that this type of new weapon may have, and without wishing to reject out of hand the possibility of a technological breakthrough that allows for them to be subject to the basic principles of IHL, at least in certain circumstances, he emphasises one central idea: that it is necessary to clarify the essential legal framework that would be in place for their use before permitting their deployment and more widespread application. 4. Drones are currently subject to highly topical debate. 4.1. Drones and Autonomous Weapons Systems. Drones are unmanned aircraft that nonetheless rely on human intervention, which plays a decisive role in the missions they are employed in. Two people operate these devices: a pilot and a sensor technician. Both work remotely, from bases that may or may not be in the same country that the aircraft takes off from. The largest drone base in the United States Air Force is, in fact, on its own territory, in the Nevada desert. The Pentagon is extending its drone base network: in the Seychelles, in Djibouti and most recently in Ethiopia, which allows for attacks on enemies in Asia, the Arabian Peninsula or the Horn of Africa42. Autonomous weapons differ from drones in the degree to which they are able to undertake their activities without any human intervention, following nothing but Español de Derecho Internacional, XXII (2006), pp. 91-129; ID.: “La política de los Estados Unidos sobre el uso militar del espacio. De Bush (2006) a Obama (2010), Revista Electrónica de Estudios Internacionales, no. 20 (2010), pp. 1-16 (www.reeei.org). 41 HIN-YAN LIU: “Categorization…” cit., pp. 637 ff., 649 ff. 42 Alandete, David: “El ascenso de los drones”, 1 November 2011, pp. 1-11, pp. 1-3 (www.blogs. elpais.com; accessed Monday 16 September 2013).
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