Australia ‘trashing’ world order by backing US strikes
Australia’s support for US strikes on Iran continues to attract criticism, with a UN expert criticizing Canberra’s stance on military action.
Ben Saul, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism, said it was “clear” that the US-Israeli strikes were an illegal, armed attack on Iran.
“Every death in Iran is a violation of the human right to life, also under international human rights law,” he told AAP.
“These are not acts of self-defense because Iran has not attacked either country and has no intention of attacking them in the near future, and the Security Council has not given any permission.”
Professor Saul accused the federal government of “trashing” the rules of the world order while dodging questions about the legality of the attacks.
Australia was one of the first countries to support US and Israeli forces’ attacks on Iran over the weekend.
Tehran retaliated with a barrage of drones and missiles targeting neighboring states, targeting oil and gas infrastructure.
Asked whether the attacks were legal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Secretary Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles said it was an issue for the United States and Israel.
“It is for the United States and Israel to explain the legal basis, and they have made comments on that,” Senator Wong told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese said Iran’s retaliation since the initial attacks showed why it was a threat to peace and stability in the region.
Around 115,000 Australians are believed to be stranded in the Middle East as conflict continues to disrupt air travel.
Australia’s embassy in Saudi Arabia warns citizens in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran to shelter in place; An Australian defense base in the United Arab Emirates was hit in an Iranian attack.
Some limited flights out of the UAE are resuming, but services have largely been halted, throwing plans into chaos and threatening to leave Australians stranded for weeks.
Prof Saul rejected claims that the strikes could be justified as preventive self-defence aimed at preventing Iran from developing or using nuclear weapons.
Prof Saul said, “Iran does not have nuclear weapons, it has not made the decision to build nuclear weapons and has not given an order for their use.” he said.
Prof Saul said middle powers such as Australia should defend international law and follow the same path as other countries such as Spain and Switzerland, which have strongly protested the attacks.
He said it was disappointing that Australia had supported a “violation” of the United Nations Charter, “shattering the most fundamental principle of world order and peace of the last 80 years”.
The U.N. expert suggested the federal government’s cautious tone may reflect a desire to preserve the AUKUS submarine agreement and avoid trade retaliation from Washington.
He argued that such a stance risks emboldening countries such as the United States and Israel “to continue violating international law in other cases.”
Opposition sector spokesman Andrew Hastie, an Afghanistan veteran, said US President Donald Trump’s four- to five-week timeline for action in Iran was optimistic.
“I think the rules-based global order is dead and buried and so those kinds of legal arguments are nice, but we live in a world of reality,” he told Sky News.
