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According to United Nations human rights experts, the pardons of four mercenaries from the security company Blackwater by US President Donald Trump violate international law. This is an affront to the judiciary and the victims of the massacre and their families, said the president of the UN working group, Jelena Aparac.
According to the Geneva Conventions, states are obliged to bring war criminals to justice. By allowing private security companies “to operate with impunity in armed conflict”, states would be encouraged to circumvent humanitarian law. Trump’s decision encourages more abuse.
Four Blackwater Mercenaries Convicted
Trump had pardoned several people before Christmas, including mercenaries deployed to Iraq on behalf of Blackwater.
All four Blackwater employees were stationed in Iraq in 2007 on behalf of the United States. The men opened fire in a Baghdad square, killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians. They were then sentenced to long sentences. The shooter who opened fire was sentenced to life imprisonment. The men had argued that they had acted in self-defense.
The killings in Nisur Square had sparked a debate over the use of private security companies by the US military. Blackwater later lost its license in Iraq. Subsequently, the company changed its name several times and eventually merged with other companies to form the Constellis Group. A subsidiary of Constellis, the so-called Olive Group, is now active in Iraq.
Pardons have also come under fire in the United States. General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, commanders of the United States armed forces and the United States ambassador to Iraq at the time of the incident, called Trump’s pardons “extremely damaging, an act that tells the world that Americans in foreigners can commit the most heinous crimes with impunity. “
In a statement announcing the pardons, the White House said the measure was “largely publicly supported,” as well as by several Republican deputies.
