United Nations published this video item, entitled “Experts accuse Iran of rights violations in shooting down Ukraine airlines flight” – below is their description.
Press Conference on the findings of Ms.Agnès Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, investigation into the 8 January 2020 shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in Iran, along with Ms. Caroline Horn, Senior Legal Adviser to Ms. Callamard.
Iran committed multiple human rights violations in shooting down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 that killed all of the 176 passengers and crew onboard, as well as in the aftermath of the deadly attack, according to a UN Human Rights expert.
“Inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and gaps in the official explanation create a maximum of confusion and thus seem to be contrived to mislead in one or more ways,” Agnes Callamard, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in a virtual press briefing on Tuesday (23 Feb).
“As for the admitted mistakes, these indicate a reckless, if not criminal disregard for standard procedures, and a principle of precaution, which should have been implemented to the fullest, given the circumstances, and the location of the unit,” Callamard said.
On 8 January 2020, an Iran Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) air defence TOR unit fired two missiles at the Ukrainian plane en route from Tehran to Kiev, killing all those on board. The strike took place in the context of heightened tensions following the United States’ targeted killing of Iran’s General Soleimani a few days earlier in Iraq and Iran’s subsequent retaliations on US bases in that country.
“I undertook six months long inquiry into the killings of those onboard PS752. And in December last year, I wrote to the Iranian government detailing my observation and posing questions about the strike. I have yet to receive a response.”
Callamard said.
The 45-page letter, highlighting multiple violations of international law by the Iranian authorities, most crucially violations of the right to life of the 176 passengers and crew, remained confidential for 60 days in accordance with Human Rights Council policy for such communications to States.
“The authorities failed to investigate the strike in line with international standards. The investigation was not prompt. For three days after the killings, the government of Iran continued to deny that the flight had been shut down and insisted instead that the crash was caused by fire,” Callamard said.
According to the Iranian investigation, flight PS752 was intentionally but mistakenly targeted by IRGC military personnel, who mistook the civilian aircraft for an incoming US missile that posed an imminent threat.
However, Callamard’s report suggests that “high level officials, knew within a matter of hours that the flight had been hit by a missile fired by an Iranian crew. It also appears that evidence was destroyed and not protected well as it could have been. There are allegations that bulldozers were used at the site, and that the crash loan was not protected from looters.”
Callamard’s letter detailed a large number of contradictions with Iran’s explanations, including the fact that Iran alleges that an error in the alignment of the mobile missile unit contributed to the mistaken targeting, but it has not provided any explanation as to why this radar miscalibration occurred, why it had not been detected, and how it led to the targeting. Iran also did not explain why the IRGC failed to follow the most basic standard procedures, such as monitoring altitude, climb or descent rate and airspeed to evaluate unknown radar tracks, evaluating the target’s size, or checking the target visually.
Even without an Identification Friend or Foe system in the unit itself, failsafe measures should have been instituted to ensure that transponder or other tracking data was accurately and promptly provided to the mobile missile system crew. Iran failed to explain how information about cleared civilian flights was communicated to IRGC units, a critical step to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft and one that clearly failed.
Contrary to the IRGC Aerospace Force Commander allegation that the unit had only 10 seconds to decide to fire, it would appear that the unit had at least a 45-second decision window and possibly more time to evaluate the target. No information is provided on why other flights that took off that night, before PS752, were not targeted. Those failures were further compounded by the Iranian Government’s refusal, over three days, to admit that the plane had been shot down by its military, even though high placed authorities knew almost immediately what had occurred.
United Nations YouTube Channel
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