Iran committed multiple human rights violations in shooting
downing Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight PS752 last
year and in the aftermath of the deadly attack, two independent
experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Tuesday.
Agnes Callamard, Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
and Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in the country, have consistently expressed concern over
the 8 January 2020 incident.
Flight PS752 was heading from Tehran to Kiev when it was struck
down by two missiles fired by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC), killing all 176 people on board.
Iran said the military personnel mistook the civilian aircraft
for a US missile.
The strike took place in the context of heightened tensions
following the targeted killing of General Qasem Soleimani, a top
Iranian official, by the United States, and Iran's subsequent
retaliations on US bases in Iraq, where he was killed.
Following a six-month inquiry, Ms. Callamard wrote to the Iranian
Government last December. outlining observations and
circumstances surrounding the strike. She said she has yet to
receive a response.
The letter remained
confidential for 60 days, in line with the Human Rights
Council’s policy on communications to States, and was
published on Tuesday.
Her letter concluded that the Iranian authorities violated the
right to life of the passengers and crew onboard the plane.
Avoidable deaths
“In situations of high military tension, the most effective means
to prevent attacks on civil aviation is to close the airspace",
she said. “Had Iran,
knowing full well that hostilities with the US could readily
escalate, closed its airspace for civilian traffic that evening,
176 human beings would not have been killed.”
She said Iran’s explanations for downing the flight present many
inconsistencies and contradictions.
“The inconsistencies in the official explanations seem designed
to create a maximum of confusion and a minimum of clarity. They
seem contrived to mislead and bewilder," she wrote.
‘Reckless disregard’
“As for the mistakes that have been admitted, they suggest at
minimum a reckless disregard for standard procedures and for the
principles of precaution, which should have been implemented to
the fullest given the circumstances and the location of the
missile unit in the proximity of a civilian airfield.”
Ms. Callamard and Mr.Rehman were among a group of independent
experts who also wrote to the Iranian authorities last February,
expressing concern over the use of force in protests that
followed the attack.
In his latest report to the Human Rights Council, Mr. Rehman has
also raised concerns over harassment of families of the victims
of Flight PS752, including death threats.
Special Rapporteurs are not UN staff, nor are they paid by the
Organization. They are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council
to monitor and advise on specific country situations or thematic
issues.
