German newspapers show pictures Wednesday relating to Osama bin Laden's death. Bin Laden's killing has sparked controversy in Germany whether such an execution-style action was appropriate.
In war, enemy combatants who don't explicitly surrender are considered legitimate targets, international experts said. Bin Laden's killing in a military context would be legal under the scenario officially put out by the White House Wednesday ? that bin Laden was unarmed but tried to resist being taken in.In contrast, international human rights law dictates that police must use the greatest possible effort to capture suspects alive, barring direct threats to the lives of officers or civilians.
"There is a higher obligation not to use lethal force," said Andrea Prasow, senior counsel in Human Rights Watch's Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program.
The Obama administration strongly emphasized Wednesday that bin Laden's slaying by a Navy SEAL team was part of a legitimate military operation, with Attorney General Eric Holder telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the shooting was justified as an action of "national self-defense" against a lawful military target. The U.S. position appeared to strengthen during the day as U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the SEALs killed bin Laden after they saw him appear to lunge for a weapon.
The officials, who were briefed on the operation, say several weapons were found in the room where the terror chief died, including AK-47s and personal side arms.
International experts said there was widespread disagreement about whether al-Qaeda members such as bin Laden are legitimate military targets.
The U.N.'s independent investigator on extrajudicial killings, Christof Heyns, said this week that there was "considerable dispute in legal circles as to whether we are dealing with an armed conflict in respect of al-Qaeda in Pakistan."
The International Committee of the Red Cross was holding a meeting on the issue Thursday and declined to comment beforehand.
Louise Doswald-Beck, a former legal chief for the Red Cross said, however, that bin Laden was clearly not an enemy combatant.
"He was basically head of a terrorist criminal network, which means that you're not really looking at the law of armed conflict but at lethal action against a dangerous criminal," she said.
There has been virtually no discussion in international legal circles of launching an investigation into bin Laden's death that could result in the prosecution of anyone involved. In many countries, however, the debate about the legitimacy of the killing could influence perceptions about U.S. foreign policy.
Doswald-Beck, who teaches law at Geneva's Graduate Institute, said only an independent investigation of bin Laden's body would be able to prove exactly how he died, and that had been rendered virtually impossible by the destruction of forensic evidence when he was buried at sea.
A U.S. official said the burial decision was made after concluding that it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept bin Laden's remains. There was also concern that a grave site could have become a rallying point for militants.
"I think questions should be asked as to why they dumped him at sea, because that makes it impossible to conduct an independent investigation," Doswald-Beck said.
The call for more information on the raid gained added weight with a statement from the U.N.'s top human rights official.
"This was a complex operation, and it would be helpful if we knew the precise facts surrounding his killing," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. "The United Nations has consistently emphasized that all counterterrorism acts must respect international law."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment