Peace Research Institute Oslo UAVs for border surveillance & humanitarian rescue at sea? DESSI Conference – 24 June 2013 Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert

Background: EUROSUR and FRONTEX The establishment of a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR), planned for December 2013 Threefold aim of EUROSUR: (1) reduce undetected entries into EU (2) increase internal security of EU by preventing cross-border crime (3) reduce death toll of migrants at sea Coordination of surveillance of EU countries bordering the Mediterranean: - creating a common surveillance picture, through network of National Coordination Centres (NCC) - sharing alerts among users more rapidly FRONTEX has expressed its interest in acquiring UAVs for border surveillance, although the legal framework remains unclear 2

The rationale: enhancing the «situational awareness» A central aim in the efforts to establish EUROSUR is to improve the “situational awareness” the border guards Drones for better surveillance? – perceived as the ultimate tool to “see” more and better – understood as especially useful to detect the small vessels used by the (suspected) irregular migrants, which are also the vessels causing most deadly accidents – presented as potentially more cost-efficient and safe, than for example more robust and constant border patrolling & in difficult areas 3

Drones for border surveillance? Flexibility and ability to cover larger areas Essentially legal problems, yet also translating into practical challenges: – What framework for extra-territorial surveillance? – Indiscriminate character of surveillance: drones incapable of distinguishing between migrants in need of international protection and those who can legitimately be returned – A request for asylum should in any case be treated by the competent authorities (on land, and not at sea) – Stopping and returning migrants earlier on: a potential violation of the principle of non-refoulement (1951 Geneva Convention) and the right to leave one’s country (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) 4

What can a drone see? Difference between surveillance drones on constant watch and a drone sent up for a specific SAR task, eg. following the reception of an alert Some of the current technology -Stay in the air for specific mission to 30 hours to weeks -From heat sensors, infrared cameras, radar systems, to motion sensors and license plate readers New systems for surveillance drones that may soon be on the market (eg. ARGUS Camera): -Opening up to 65 windows at the same time -Seeing objects as small as six inches sq on the ground, providing pictures of1.8 billion pixels from 17,500 feet -Meaning: pictures revealing the color of a person’s shirt -Future surveillance drones: able to stay in the air for years -Facial recognition? 5

Drones for humanitarian SAR operations? Drones might detect potentially deadly accidents earlier on, and thus save lives because rescue teams arrive to the location earlier EUROSUR in addition has some advantages based on it being a system coordinated among neighboring states: -Coordination of alerts in an area of overlapping territorial waters/international waters and SAR areas -Creation of “watchers watch over the watchers” system, more difficult to claim “we didn’t see anything” Challenges related to the instances collecting the information vs. those in charge of responding to situations of alert -EUROSUR: no inclusion of SAR authorities, or requests that MS improve the coordination between their border patrolling authorities and those responsible for SAR 6

Specific challenges to the use of drones both for border surveillance and for SAR Responsibilities & division of labor: A same technological device – eg. drones – may be used to detect a range of different «events» at sea: suspected criminal activity, irregular migration, vessels in distress… …requiring different responses by different agents (SAR, police, border patrols, etc.) Potential challenge for int’l cooperation: different divisions of labor between agencies Operationalizing the data: From seeing a situation of distress to carrying out a SAR operation Privacy & data protection issues: -Sensitive when dealing with asylum seekers & sharing of data with 3rd countries -Diffferent types of migrants: do the subjects want to be seen or not? Dilemma: Humanitarian justifications vs. migrants’ human rights 7

Legal & political challenges Extra-territorial surveillance: a legal framework needed Additional privacy and data protection issues raised in situations of cooperation with third countries Challenge of making legal regulations today, with constantly evolving technologies Political climate and socio-political acceptability of drones for surveillance Function creep and risks associated to multiple usages of the same tool 8