UN rights chief concerned by UK draft law for troops

GENEVA: The UN rights chief warned London on Monday that a draft law aimed at preventing "vexatious" prosecutions of troops over war crimes allegations risked undermining Britain´s human rights obligations. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged lawmakers to ensure that British law remained entirely unambiguous when it comes to accountability for international crimes.

The prosecution of British soldiers for alleged past crimes in Northern Ireland, and in more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, has dogged the military, government and courts for years.