The US military base at Ramstein is permitted to be used for drone strikes, but Germany still has an obligation to protect fundamental human rights. Here, the assessment of each individual case is essential.
Does the right to life and physical integrity, guaranteed by the German Constitution, apply even when other countries kill people far from Germany, with German help, even indirectly? Germany's Constitutional Court had to answer this complex question.
The reason for this was a lawsuit filed by two men whose relatives were killed in a targeted US drone strike in Yemen in 2012. In this case, the technical infrastructure of the US base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate was also used. In this case, the lawsuit was dismissed as unfounded.
Foreign policy and security
But the decision does not give full permission for future drone operations that could be deadly. The explanation states that Germany must protect fundamental human rights and the main norms of international humanitarian law when it comes to foreigners abroad. However, the Court gave the German government wide discretion to decide in the field of foreign and security policy.
The obligation of protection that the court has now declared is linked to two prerequisites: there must be a sufficiently clear connection with German state authority and there must be a serious threat of a systematic violation of international law.
In the case of the drone strikes in Yemen, according to the Court, this was not the case. The United States has been praised as a country that takes into account the protection of civilians in the fight against international terrorism. The decision mentions "legitimate military objectives".
The death of innocent people
It is particularly tragic that the attack, which was directed from Ramstein, killed innocent civilians in addition to the suspected terrorists. Legal expert Paulina Starski from the University of Freiburg criticized this on the public program Phönix: "If they don't know exactly who they are attacking, they have to assume it is a civilian."
This is why targeted killings are often very problematic from a humanitarian and international legal perspective, she says.
She also pointed out that the US Air Force would not need logistical support from Ramstein if it could direct its missiles, which are controlled from Florida, towards targets. This is done because of the terrain configuration. Technically, this was also the subject of the decision by the Constitutional Court.
Direct radio communications between the US and Yemen are not possible. That is why Ramstein is important for attacks in this part of the world.
The whole process is technically very simple: A drone pilot is seated in Florida, connected by an optical cable to a hub in Ramstein. After all, a single press of a button is enough to direct the deadly weapon towards the target object.
Plaintiffs disappointed, German government relieved
The Yemeni plaintiffs' lawyer, Andreas Schüller, called the Federal Constitutional Court's decision painful and disappointing. However, the new wording offers clear guidelines for future cases: "Following today's decision, situations are possible in which violations of human and international rights abroad could end up before German courts."
The German government reacted with relief. State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, Nils Schmid, emphasized that care has always been taken to respect international law. According to him, the decision also gives Germany's security policy "the necessary freedom of action" to remain a reliable ally./ DW (A2 Televizion)
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