The organizations shot down Israel and the US’ self-defence justification
The International Bar Association, its Human Rights Institute, and United Nations experts have flagged breaches of international law in the attacks on Iran and Lebanon.
The IBA and IBAHRI called for all parties to immediately cease illegal uses of force and to comply with the UN Charter and international humanitarian and human rights law. It signalled for independent investigations to be conducted into supposed violations and for diplomatic negotiations to resume quickly.
UN experts echoed the need for independent investigations, particularly into attacks like the one on a girls’ school in Iran that killed 180 girls; the ones on oil refineries that resulted in acid rain; and those on a desalination plant.
“Any loss of life in an illegal war is a violation of the right to life,” the experts said in a joint statement.
The IBA and IBAHRI noted that attacks resulting in civilian harm disproportionate to the expected military advantage could be regarded as war crimes.
Israel and the US had justified the attacks, which began on February 28 when both countries initiated a combined military offensive on Iran, as self-defence, pointing to Iran’s nuclear program, its crackdown on anti-government protests, and long-standing proxy hostilities. However, the IBA and IBAHRI said the reasons “fail under rigorous legal scrutiny.”
“International law allows self-defence only in response to an armed attack. Any anticipatory use of force must meet a strict test of imminence – a threat that is ‘instant, overwhelming and leaving no choice of means and no moment for deliberation’ – a standard derived from the Caroline incident of 1837,” the organizations said in a statement. “Military action taken to neutralise speculative or longer-term threats – often described as pre-emptive force – has no widely accepted basis in international law.”
UN experts added that Israel and the US should not consider themselves “as above international legality.” The IBA, IBAHRI, and the UN acknowledged Iran’s own human rights violations in relation to its countrymen; however, they indicated that it did not justify other countries’ interference.
“No violations of human rights in Iran or elsewhere provide any legal or moral justification for an unwarranted interference with the sovereignty of a UN Member State and an illegal attack,” the UN experts said.
The IBA and IBAHRI added that the question was whether the military strikes were legal.
“The prohibition on the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state – commonly referred to as forcible regime change – set out in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter is a cornerstone of the international legal order. The legality of the use of force cannot depend on the perceived character or legitimacy of the government targeted,” the organizations said.
The UN experts called for all states to honor the rights of Iranians to their own political system.
“Only the Iranian people can decide their own future, in full sovereignty, and in line with the principles of the rule of law and respect for human rights,” the experts said.
Nonetheless, the IBA and IBAHRI cautioned the Iranian government against the communications blackout it imposed after the February 28 attack, noting that it breached article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guards the right to freedom of expression and access to information.
Statements from the IBA and IBAHRI were made by IBA president Claudio Visco, IBA executive director Mark Ellis, IBAHRI co-chair Mark Stephens, IBAHRI co-chair Hina Jilani, and IBAHRI director Helena Kennedy.
The UN experts who commented were George Katrougalos, Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, special rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; Reem Alsalem, special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967; Ben Saul, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Michael Fakhri, special rapporteur on the right to food; Claudia Flores (chair), Ivana Krstić (vice-chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi of the working group on discrimination against women and girls; and Morris Tidball-Binz, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
