UN Experts: Malicious Manipulation of Thousands of Communications Devices in Lebanon is a Terrible Violation of International Law

A group of United Nations experts of the Human Rights Council described Israel’s recent attack on Lebanon by detonating wireless communication devices as a terrifying violation of international law.

“The malicious manipulation of thousands of communication devices that led to their immediate explosion violates the human right to life with the absence of any indication that the victims posed an imminent threat to anyone at that time,” the experts said in a statement published by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, noting that these attacks require a quick and independent investigation to reveal the truth and ensure accountability of the perpetrator.

The experts expressed their deepest solidarity with the victims of such attacks, which can constitute war crimes through the intention of killing and attacking civilians and launching indiscriminate attacks, warning that violence aimed at spreading terror among civilians, including intimidation or deterrence, is also a war crime.

The experts urged the UN to conduct a prompt, effective, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the attacks, and stressed that states must bring to justice those who ordered and carried out these attacks

Amal Farhat