UN expert calls US killing of Iran's top commander Qasem Soleimani 'unlawful'

A UN human rights investigator said that the drone strike conducted by the United States against top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was unlawful. In an annual report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions, said that the US violated the territorial integrity of Iraq since it didn’t obtain the consent of Baghdad before launching an attack.

“The targeted killing of General Soleimani, coming in the wake of 20 years of distortions of international law, and repeated massive violations of humanitarian law, is not just a slippery slope. It is a cliff,” said Callamard.

The UN expert argued that drone operations are characterised by violations of the international obligation to investigate and punish those responsible for violations of international humanitarian or human rights law. She said that there is little public disclosure with targeted killings by drones wrapped up in secrecy that extends to the investigation of civilian deaths. 

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Callamard said that authorities rely on pre- and post-strike drone-video feeds to detect civilian casualties, missing out on potentially significant numbers of civilian deaths. She lamented that civilian populations should be central to reporting and accountability mechanisms but there seem to be no reporting mechanisms for families affected by drone strikes.

“And yet, civil society and media sources have proven invaluable, including to military authorities, for accurate counts of civilian casualties which is also essential for a fuller picture of the impact of operations,” she added.

'Question of morality'

The UN official argued that the use of drones for the purpose of killing extraterritorially raises questions of morality, jurisdiction, and accountability. The International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have established that human rights treaty obligations can apply in principle to the conduct of a State outside its territory, she added.

“The Human Rights Committee has established that a State party has an obligation to respect and to ensure the right to life of all persons whose right to life is impacted by its military or other activities in a direct and reasonably foreseeable manner,” said Callamard.

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