GENEVA (Reuters) – The US drone attack in January in Iraq that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and nine other people represented a violation of international law, a UN human rights investigator said Monday.
FILE PHOTO: A supporter of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah takes photos of the late Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration commemorating the murdered leaders of Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut , Lebanon, February 16, 2020. REUTERS / Aziz Taher / Photo Archive
The United States has not provided sufficient evidence of an imminent or imminent attack on its interests to justify the attack on Soleimani’s convoy as it was leaving Baghdad airport, said Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
The attack violated the United Nations Charter, Callamard wrote in a report calling for responsibility for the targeted killings of armed drones and for increased gun regulation.
“The world is at a critical moment, and a possible turning point, when it comes to the use of drones. … The Security Council is not in action; the international community, voluntarily or not, remains largely silent, “Callamard, an independent investigator, told Reuters.
Callamard is due to present his findings to the Human Rights Council on Thursday, giving member states the opportunity to debate what steps to take. The United States is not a member of the forum, as it resigned two years ago.
Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, was a leading figure in orchestrating Iran’s campaign to expel US forces from Iraq, and created Iran’s network of proxy armies throughout the Middle East. Washington had accused Soleimani of planning attacks by Iran-aligned militias against US forces in the region.
“Major General Soleimani was in charge of Iran’s military strategy and actions in Syria and Iraq. But in the absence of a real imminent threat to life, the course of action taken by the United States was illegal, “Callamard wrote in the report.
The January 3 drone attack was the first known incident in which a nation invoked self-defense as justification for an attack against a state actor on third-country territory, Callamard added.
Iran retaliated with a rocket attack on an Iraqi air base where US forces were stationed. Hours later, Iranian forces on high alert mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet taking off from Tehran.
Iran issued an arrest warrant against US President Donald Trump and 35 others for the Soleimani murder and requested help from Interpol, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on June 29, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Reports from Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Will Dunham
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