United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, has said that the January US drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and nine other people represented a “violation of the UN charter”.
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In a report calling for greater regulation of arms and accountability for targeted killings by armed drones, Ms. Callamard said that the attack breached international norms and law, and that the US did not provide “sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack against its interests to justify the strike”.
Callamard is expected to brief the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) about this issue on Thursday, and give member states a chance to discuss policy options that they could pursue. The US is no longer a part of the UNHRC, having withdrawn from the body in 2018 due to the Council’s “biases” against Israel.
Major General Qassem Soleimani was the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s (IRGC) Quds Force. He reported to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and was widely recognized as the head of Iran's expanding ambitions in the Middle East. Under his watch, Iran conducted proxy wars in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. It backs Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war by arming the Shia Muslim fighters, supports a Shia-dominated paramilitary force against the Islamic State in Iraq, and holds considerable sway over the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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The Trump Administration alleges that the Quds Force supports anti-American terrorist groups in the Middle by providing them with funds, training, and weapons. In fact, in April 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, under which the Quds Force falls, as a terrorist organization. Washington had accused Soleimani of being the mastermind behind attacks on US forces in the region.
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Ms. Callamard noted that the drone strike was the first known incident of a country citing self-defense as a justification for an attack against a state actor in a third country’s territory. Following the incident, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles on US airbases in Iraq. Hours later, amidst its security forces being on high alert, it mistakenly shot a Ukrainian passenger jet taking off from Tehran. Last week, Iran issued an arrest warrant against US President Donald Trump over Soleimani’s killing, and sought help from Interpol. Interpol said it “would not consider requests of this nature” citing incompatibilities with its rules and constitution. US officials called Iran’s move a “political stunt” which no one would take seriously and only make the “Iranians look foolish.”
Image Source: Reuters