On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing war crimes, accountability, and the precedents being set by the US-Israeli assault on Iran, the US-backed Israeli assault on Gaza, and the ongoing deadly boat strikes carried out by the Trump administration.
DAWN says UN member states should take urgent action to end the attacks on Iran and Lebanon and ensure accountability for apparent US and Israeli war crimes. Human Rights Watch has called for the deadly US-Israel strike on the girls' school in southern Iran that killed at least 175 people, mostly children, to be investigated as a war crime.
Last August, Human Rights Watch said US military personnel could face legal liability for assisting Israeli forces who've committed war crimes in Gaza.
In response to Trump’s boat strikes, which have killed at least 157 people, the ACLU says under both US and international law, it is flagrantly illegal to use the military to kill civilians suspected only of crimes.
What message are these attacks sending to other authoritarian leaders? What does accountability look like?
Guests:
Reed Brody, veteran war crimes prosecutor, member of the International Commission of Jurists, and author of To Catch a Dictator
Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at DAWN, and advisory board member of Airwars
Resources:
ProPublica: The U.S. Built a Blueprint to Avoid Civilian War Casualties. Trump Officials Scrapped It.
The New York Times: U.S. at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry Says
Human Rights Watch: US/Israel: Investigate Iran School Attack as a War Crime
United Nations: Israeli actions in Palestinian territories constitute war crimes, Human Rights Council hears
NPR: U.S. military kills 6 in strike on alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific
