A/HRC/41/CRP.1 367. They may also be in a position to directly warn the individual concerned, even if they cannot implement any other specific protection measures themselves. There is no evidence that such a warning could constitute, under the US Directive 191, one of the circumstances for which a waiver to the duty may be granted. Warnings could be framed in such a way that the individuals whose lives are at risk would not know anything about the methods used to obtain the relevant information, so that there was no risk that the methods in question could be compromised or publicly exposed.308 368. The question may be raised as to whether such direct warnings to individuals could violate the principle according to which a state cannot take measures on the territory of another state by means of enforcement of national laws without the consent of the latter. The Special Rapporteur takes the position that there must be a presumption that such warnings which aimed at protecting a jus cogen norm such as the right to life309, or an obligation erga omnes, or at preventing a crime that may be the object of universal jurisdiction, do not violate the aforementioned principle and should not be opposed by other states. 310 369. In conclusion, if the United States (or any other party to the ICCPR) knew, or should have known, of a foreseeable threat to Khashoggi’s life and failed to warn him, while he was in Turkey (or elsewhere), and under circumstances with respect to which it could be argued that he was under their functional jurisdiction, then the United States or any other State would have violated their obligations to protect Mr. Khashoggi’s life. II. The responsibility to protect applied to the execution of Mr. Khashoggi 370. This section will now turn to an analysis of the responsibility to protect as applied to the execution of Mr. Khashoggi, with a particular focus on the circumstances before the attack on his life. The question is whether Turkey or the United States knew or ought to have known of a real and imminent or foreseeable threat to Mr. Khashoggi’s life. This includes an assessment of whether, in light of what they knew or were told, the authorities should have undertaken further enquiry or investigation. 371. This analysis is hampered by the lack of access to Intelligence assessment and by the inability to authenticate leaks reported by journalists. However, on the basis of the information available to, and authenticated by, the Special Rapporteur, the following evaluation may be offered. A real and credible threat? 372. There are good reasons to believe that the Saudi consulate was already under surveillance by the time Mr. Khashoggi entered it for the first time on 28 September, although this is denied by the Turkish authorities. Such surveillance may have been conducted as a routine exercise with regard to a number of foreign actors on Turkish territory. There are good reasons to believe that Turkish authorities were focused on a range of real or perceived threats in the year of and preceding Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, in light of the national and regional situations. 373. Turkish alleged surveillance of the Saudi consulate generated information that Mr. Khashoggi’s life may be at risk of imminent harm dating back to 30 September and 1 October. The execution of Mr. Khashoggi on 2 October was also recorded. However, there is no evidence that the Turkish surveillance of the Consulate was conducted in real time (a 308 309 310 72 Extrapolation from Milanovic thoughtful analysis of the responsibility to protect Mr. Khashoggi, 2019, p. 21 Such presumption applies in particular force to situations involving individuals with whom States have a special relationship that renders them particularly well situated to protect that said individuals. See Yuval Shavy, 2013, p.69. This proposal is in keeping with a range of doctrinal and strategic developments, including at the level of the United Nations, such as the Responsibility To Protect (R2P), the Protection of Civilians (POC), the development of Early Warning Capacities, and more recently the Secretary General call for a culture of prevention within the UN and amongst member States. https://www.un.org/sg/en/priorities/prevention.shtml

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