Dear Friends,

I invite you to join NRCAT and the Interfaith Working Group on Drone Warfare for a webinar on December 13 at noon ET. 

Drone War, Tech Assassinations, and the Future of Conflict: Theological, Legal, and Policy Developments  

Register for the Dec. 13th webinar at noon ET/9am PT

From the first fully autonomous deadly targeting in Libya to “kamikaze” drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and “Over the horizon” capability in Afghanistan, the use of lethal drones is expanding with little restraint. The technology and availability of lethal drones continue to quickly expand and are outpacing ethical and policy reflection and restraints.

In a previous webinar the Interfaith Working Group on Drone Warfare focused on the human costs of drone strikes, both in the targeted communities and to the operators. In this discussion we will explore the expansion of drones use due to weapons sales and technology transfers as well as the technological advances in AI and use of lethal force via drones as well as ethical and policy considerations that these raise.

For example, how does the ease of use of deadly force change and challenge theological and ethical frameworks for evaluating justness? And, how must humans stay “in the loop” on moral questions of such gravity? The expansion of availability and lethality highlight the need for more robust and sustained theological ethical analysis of our assumptions of war, violence, and targeting. 

The panelists for the discusion are:

• Dr. Pauline Muchina, the Policy, Education, and Advocacy Coordinator for Africa at AFSC in Washington, DC and a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. She holds a Masters degree from Yale University Divinity School and a Ph.D. from the Union Theological Seminary.
• Daphne Eviatar, Amnesty International USA’s Director of Security with Human Rights. A human rights advocate and lawyer, she is expert on the prosecution and treatment of international terrorism suspects, she reported on military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, the treatment of detainees at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan, terrorism trials in federal courts, and the U.S. drone war. 
• Annie Shiel, Senior Advisor, United States, at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). Annie leads CIVIC's work engaging with U.S. policymakers, lawmakers, and advocates to enhance the protection of civilians in conflict, includig CIVIC’s policy analysis and advocacy around the civilian harm implications of U.S. military operations and security assistance, and building and working with coalitions of likeminded organizations to advance U.S. policies that improve the lives of civilians living in conflict.

I hope you can join us for this webinar - register here.

In community,

Rev. T.C. Morrow
Director of Finance & Operations