UN mandate-holder and independent legal analysis dispute the Soleimani strike's legal basis
Reporting and findings
- reported
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings concluded that the United States had not shown a sufficiently imminent threat and characterized the Soleimani strike as an arbitrary killing and an Article 2(4) violation; independent Just Security analysis separately questioned imminence, Iraqi sovereignty, and compliance with human-rights law.
- United Nations Human Rights Council: Use of armed drones for targeted killings: report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, A/HRC/44/38A/HRC/44/38 conclusions and Just Security legal-framework sections
- Just Security: The Targeted Killing of General Soleimani: Its Lawfulness and Why It MattersA/HRC/44/38 conclusions and Just Security legal-framework sections
Summary and current status
The analyses address imminence, Iraqi sovereignty, human-rights law, and the U.N. Charter; neither is a court judgment.
Non-adjudicative legal analysis
People and organizations
- Qasem Soleimaniperson killed
- Donald J. Trumppresident who directed the strike
- 2020 Soleimani strike orderstrike under analysis
Relationships in this file
- Qasem Soleimanideath examined in non-adjudicative legal analyses2020 Soleimani strike order