UN Special Rapporteur’s Report on legal issues raised by targeted killings

The report to the Human Rights Council on legal issues raised by targeted killings by Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, has been released.

As indicated in the summary

In recent years, a few States have adopted policies that permit the use of targeted killings, including in the territories of other States. Such policies are often justified as a necessary and legitimate response to “terrorism” and “asymmetric warfare”, but have had the very problematic effect of blurring and expanding the boundaries of the applicable legal frameworks. This report describes the new targeted killing policies and addresses the main legal issues that have arisen.

As he presented his reports to the Human Rights Council, Alston also stressed the need for international inquiries into serious allegations of extrajudicial executions in cases where national probes have been insufficient, citing examples relating to the Gaza Strip and Sri Lanka.

Read comments on the report by:
Kenneth Anderson, Opinio Juris
Deborah Pearlstein, Opinio Juris
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