An MQ-1 Predator prepares for takeoff in Southwest Asia. (Charles McCain/Flickr)

At issue is the decision by the U.S. to assassinate rather than capture members of Al Qaeda. Drone attacks have been used in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. These strikes killed some 950 people in Pakistan in 2010 alone, according to the U.N. rep.

Christof Heyns, a U.N. investigator, issued a 28-page report last night to the group's Human Rights Council, which is expected to debate the issue later today.

Read the full story here, and more of Neon Tommy's coverage of drone strikes here.

Reach Executive Producer Catherine Green here; follow her here.