A/HRC/44/38 the international community, including the UNSC, in addressing the alleged imminent threats. Major General Soleimani was in charge of Iran military strategy, and actions, in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic. But absent an actual imminent threat to life, the course of action taken by the US was unlawful. 83. As noted in the introduction, in the months preceding the strike against General Soleimani, hundreds of Iraqis were wounded and killed in the context of peaceful demonstrations. Others lost their lives in the fight against what is left of ISIL and other groups which continue to operate. These deaths came less than two years after the end of a devastating conflict in which an estimated 30,000 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 55,000 were injured.124 84. The strikes against General Soleimani and the US bases in Iraq resulted in far more casualties than their direct targets alone. 176 passengers lost their lives when an Iranian missile struck their plane, by “mistake” according to Iran, in the midst of escalating tensions.125 UN Special Procedures also alleged that Iranians protesting the authorities’ lack of transparency over the incident were killed, 126 while Iraqi protesters continued to be targeted, killed or disappeared.127 85. With Iraq increasing treated as if “an open arena for the settling of scores” and yet “a theatre for a potential war that could be further devastating to it and to the region and the entire world”,128 it is impossible to sustain a plausible argument that somehow the two strikes were intended to contribute to or occurred as part of a post-conflict and reconstruction strategy. They did not. What these acts did convey however is scant concern for the wellbeing of the people of the countries affected, including an absence of concern for the rights and demands of the young demonstrators who across the region cry out for democracy and human rights. 124 125 126 127 128 40 https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G18/185/94/PDF/G1818594.pdf?OpenElement. These included the US President January 4 threats to target 52 Iranian sites, including cultural sites https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1213593975732527112?s=11. Special Procedures communications, Iran, 19 February 2020. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile? gId=25070. Special Procedure communication, Iraq, 13 January 2020. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25020. https://undocs.org/S/2020/26.