Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/9/un-war-crimes-panel-urges-us-to-probe-deadly-syria-air-raids
United Nations War crimes investigators are urging the United States to hold thorough probes in order to hold the people responsible for violations that caused the civilian casualties after a US air raid. This comes as the US secretary of Defense ordered a review of an attack that took place in Syria in 2019 that killed up to 64 women and children during a US battle with ISIS. The UN panel called for Washington to make their finding public, and hold the people responsible for the failed attack accountable. The UN commission of Inquiry restated a “recommendation to the United States and all parties to conduct credible, independent and impartial investigations into incidents entailing civilian casualties in which their forces are implicated”. Some independent experts are saying that the US should ease up the sanctions on Syria in order to try and mitigate the impact on civilians.
In my opinion, what the UN is asking for is completely fair. The US made a mistake, which happened, but up to 64 women and children died due to this mistake which is tragic. Even though the casualties were not intended, the people who are responsible for this tragedy should be held accountable, and the families involved have the right to know what is going on and who caused it. The biggest issue that comes up in this is not only that the US killed dozens of people, but also the fact that the US tried to cover up the catastrophe instead of owning up to their mistake and holding the people responsible accountable for the deaths.
This relates back to class due to the involvement of the UN. The United Nations is the closest thing there is to a world government. The goal of the UN is to maintain international peace and security. With the UN trying to hold the US officials involved responsible, they are trying to take steps in order to try and keep the peace. With the US committing an airstrike on Syria, this could pose an international threat if the US decides to go after more countries, so the UN wants to try and get this taken care of before more innocent people get killed.