Jul 7, 2020, 10:15 AM

UN Special Rapporteur:

Gen. Soleimani's assassination violation of intl. law

Gen. Soleimani's assassination violation of intl. law

TEHRAN, Jul. 07 (MNA) – The US drone strike in Iraq that assassinated Lt. Gen. Soleimani and nine other people represented a violation of international law, said the UN human rights investigator on Monday.

The United States has failed to provide sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack against its interests to justify the strike on Gen. Soleimani’s convoy as it left Baghdad airport, said Agnes Callamard, according to Reuters.

The attack violated the UN Charter, Callamard wrote in a report calling for accountability for targeted killings by armed drones and for greater regulation of the weapons.

“The world is at a critical time, and possible tipping point, when it comes to the use of drones. ... The Security Council is missing in action; the international community, willingly or not, stands largely silent,” Callamard said.

"But absent an actual imminent threat to life, the course of action taken by the US was unlawful,” Callamard wrote in the report.

Callamard is due on Thursday to present her findings to the Human Rights Council, giving member states a chance to debate what action to pursue. The United States is not a member of the forum, having quit two years ago.

ZZ/PR

News ID 160648

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