Independent experts acting under the United Nations Human Rights Council's Special Procedures mandates have condemned the unprovoked military strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran and Lebanon. The experts warned that these actions threaten to establish a dangerous precedent of total impunity for the world’s most powerful military forces.
The assessment was issued by a group of prominent independent experts, including George Katrougalos, the independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories; Ben Saul, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; and Michael Fakhri, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
"The conflict risks engulfing the wider region in catastrophic armed violence and threatens to set yet another precedent of total impunity for some of the world's strongest military powers," the experts stated in a press release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The group emphasized that the unprovoked attacks on Iran—carried out while diplomatic negotiations were still ongoing and with the implicit or explicit support of several other states—are entirely illegal under international law and constitute an act of aggression.
"The United States and Israel should stop waging and expanding wars and cease considering themselves above international legality," the experts concluded.
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Photo: Steve Calcott/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS