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Top UN official warns against `licence to kill` in Iraq
Geneva, May 21: The UN`s top human rights official today sharply criticised violence in Iraq and in the southern Gaza Strip, warning that security forces in both places did not have a `licence to kill`.
Geneva, May 21: The UN's top human rights official today sharply criticised violence in Iraq and in the southern Gaza Strip, warning that security forces in both places did not have a "licence to kill".
UN acting high commissioner for human rights Bertrand Ramcharan was deeply concerned about the deaths of more than 40 people in a us bombing raid in western Iraq and of Palestinians during an Israeli offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, a spokesman said.
"The high commissioner wants to stress, for both of these incidents, that even though there might be security considerations and related concerns, there is no licence to kill," UN spokesman Jose Diaz told journalists.
Ramcharan reiterated "the duty of protection of human rights even in time of armed conflict", he added.
The US military has acknowledged that 41 people were killed in an airstrike mid-week in western Iraq, insisting it had targeted foreign fighters in the desert.
But Iraqis, who said they lost friends and relatives, maintained the attack hit a village just outside the town of Qaim, where a wedding had been celebrated.
"The high commissioner stresses the responsibility of the occupying forces to ensure the safety and welfare of Iraqi civilians and to refrain from excessive use of force and indiscriminate attacks," Diaz said.
Ramcharan was "deeply disturbed by the consequences of Israel's recent military operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly in Rafah and the disproportionate use of force," Diaz said.
Bureau Report
"The high commissioner wants to stress, for both of these incidents, that even though there might be security considerations and related concerns, there is no licence to kill," UN spokesman Jose Diaz told journalists.
Ramcharan reiterated "the duty of protection of human rights even in time of armed conflict", he added.
The US military has acknowledged that 41 people were killed in an airstrike mid-week in western Iraq, insisting it had targeted foreign fighters in the desert.
But Iraqis, who said they lost friends and relatives, maintained the attack hit a village just outside the town of Qaim, where a wedding had been celebrated.
"The high commissioner stresses the responsibility of the occupying forces to ensure the safety and welfare of Iraqi civilians and to refrain from excessive use of force and indiscriminate attacks," Diaz said.
Ramcharan was "deeply disturbed by the consequences of Israel's recent military operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly in Rafah and the disproportionate use of force," Diaz said.
Bureau Report