Two independent UN human rights experts Friday called on the United States to provide further details regarding the operation that resulted in the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Xinhua reported.
"In respect of the recent use of deadly force against Osama bin Laden, the United States of America should disclose the supporting facts to allow an assessment in terms of international human rights law standards," Christof Heyns, the independent UN expert dealing with extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and Martin Scheinin, who deals with human rights and counter-terrorism said in a joint statement.
Heyns and Scheinin, who work under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council, noted that in exceptional cases, deadly force may be used as a measure of last resort and that terrorists should be dealt with as criminals through legal processes.
The experts said it would be particularly important to know if the U.S. operation allowed an effort to capture Bin Laden.
"It may well be that the questions that are being asked about the operation could be answered, but it is important to get this into the open," he said in the statement issued in Geneva.
"Actions taken by states in combating terrorism, especially in high profile cases, set precedents for the way in which the right to life will be treated in future instances," they added.
Meanwhile, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters here Friday that the United Nations headquarters in New York "expects all counter-terrorism operations to be conducted in conformity with international law."