As Yemeni officials are celebrating their political victory on the White House having secured on Thursday President Barack Obama's promise that he will revoke Gitmo moratorium on all Yemeni detainees, Alkarama and HOOD submitted a report to United Nations experts relating to American-led military operations in Yemen and the impact such raids are having on civilian communities.
Both rights groups have used September 2sd, 2012, attack in Radaa as an example to support their calls for an end to targeted killings, invoking the danger such air raids present to civilians and the devastated impacts drones are having on the wider local population.

On September 2sd, 2012, a drone attack against al-Qaeda militants led to the death of 12 innocent civilians in Radaa, not taking into consideration the psychological trauma which was inflicted onto that particular rural community.

Both Alkarama and HOOD are arguing that drone strikes aka targeted killings are unlawful by nature and therefore should be altogether stopped, as to preserve civilians' rights and comply with international law.
Beyond a simple matter of territorial sovereignty, which often has been a matter of debate whenever drones are mentioned both rights groups are solely preoccupied with defending Yemenis' most basic human rights.

Because drones have become America's weapon of choice when fighting terror in the region (Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan) politicians, state officials and activists have been forced to look at the ethicality of this new technological warfare. On January 2013, UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism, Ben Emmerson launched an inquiry to that effect, seeking to establish the "civilian impact, and human rights implications of the use drones and other forms of targeted killing for the purpose of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency". The 10-member panel will present its conclusions at next session of the UN General Assembly in the Fall of 2013.
First in the list will be the review of Radaa killings.

Despite mounting damaging evidences and reports from well-trusted media sources such as the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and rights groups such as Alkarama which interviewed drone attacks' survivors, the Obama administration is rejecting allegations that collateral damages, in this instance people's lives are by outweighing military advances against terror militants.

As per reported by Alkarama in its report to the UN, 12 people, including a woman and two children were killed in Radaa on September 2d, 2012, when a drone mistakenly targeted a truck, assuming the vehicle was transporting al-Qaeda operatives.

Alkarama's report read, "Nasser Mabkhout al-Sabuly, the 45 year-old driver of the pickup who survived the attack, recalls: "It was approximately 4 pm. We were all returning home from Al Radaa market where we usually sell our products. We are farmers. While I was driving, I saw two aircrafts flying over the car and one of them began to fly lower and lower ... As the plane came closer a first rocket was fired at the front of the pick-up, turning it upside down and starting a fire.
A deluge of fire and bodies burning is all Mr al-Sabuly can remember of the first strike before he fainted. Bystanders report that within seconds, a second missile struck, presumably to make sure that all the passengers in the vehicle were killed.
Another survivor of the attack deplored, "The plane was so low. Undoubtedly, the pilot must have seen us. See that we were not armed. See that there was a woman and two children amongst us."
Dawla Al-Sabuli, an 8 year-old girl, was hugging her mother when she died. At the al-Thawra hospital morgue in Dhamar, where the bodies were being stored, she was found with her arms open. Thirteen year-old Mabrouk Al Daqari also died during the strike. His father said about him: "Everybody loves Mabrouk. Untill now, we cannot bear to tell his grand-father that Mabrouk is dead."
Such attacks have led to a severe social backlash in Yemen, putting officials in a difficult position as they seek to both please the Pentagon, Yemen's most staunch financial and military supporter and its people to whom they pledge their loyalty.

It is important to note that after initially denying any hand into Radaa incident, the United States had to finally admit guilt in the face of mounting forensic evidences. It took Yemen more than three months to renege its former statement, admitting that indeed the attack had been American-led and that indeed civilians had been killed and not al-Qaeda militants as previously claimed by the defense ministry.

According to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which both Yemen and the United States of America have signed, "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life."
Moreover Alkarama and HOOD are challenging the Yemeni government on that they claim it failed to adhere to Article 48-a of the constitution, "The State guarantees its citizens individual freedom, and protects their dignity and security." They also estimate that Article 47 of the Yemeni constitution was violated, "everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty", since none of Radaa victims were given the chance to answer to terror charges.

In statement to the press earlier last week Alkarama and HOOD stated, "Our organizations today submitted detailed information regarding the 12 individuals killed in this attack to UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Christof Heyns and UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter Terrorism, asking that they intervene with the US and Yemeni authorities to ensure independent, impartial and effective investigations are undertaken into these deaths and that those responsible be prosecuted. Furthermore, Alkarama and HOOD call on both countries to reconsider their policy of targeted killings in the country."