By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES NEW YORK -Despite growing pressure on the United Nations to establish an independent investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the international body has not done so yet.  Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, on behalf of the  Istanbul government, called for an independent probe into the killing of Khashoggi. The UN says it has not received a “formal” request to do so.

“We have not been formally requested to investigate but a request will be considered if one is received. The UN as a general practice needs a mandate from a body of member states before it can conduct an investigation.” Farhan Aziz Haq, Deputy Spokesman for  Secretary-General  António Guterres told DIPLOMATIC TIMES Nov. 23, 2018.

Many world political leaders and  organizations  are of the position the UN has a moral obligation to initiate an investigation.

“At the current stage we believe an international investigation is a must,” Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Amnesty International Urges UN To Investigate Khashoggi murder 

Amnesty International Secretary General Kumi Naidoo appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week, calling upon him to set up a UN investigation the slain journalist’s murder.

“I’ve written to@antonioguterres today on behalf of more than 170,000 @amnesty supporters,urging him to set up a UN investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist#JamalKhashoggi. His family deserves the truth, and everyone responsible for this crime should be held to account,” Naidoo tweeted.

Last week, Amnesty International Indonesia director Samah Hadid called on the international community to hold an independent investigation into Khashoggi’s killing.

.@amnesty is calling for a UN-led independent investigation into #JamalKhashoggi’s disappearance & potential extrajudicial execution. Saudi Arabia’s attempt to cover up and whitewash the details of his case must end now. We need an impartial inquiry now: Sign the petition and demand that the UN Secretary General António Guterres set up an independent investigation now.” Samah Hadid via Twitter  

Amnesty International USA Urges the White House call for a UN Probe 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA TO PRESIDENT TRUMP:  DEMAND A UN INVESTIGATION INTO KHASHOGGI KILLING!

The U.S. government’s voice can be instrumental in ensuring that the world finally learns the full truth about what happened to him and that his killers are held to account. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 

President George W. Bush Requested UN Security Council Investigate Assassination of Lebanon PM Rafiq Hariri  Credit: Wikipedia Public Domain / Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri of Lebanon was assassinated on 14 February 2005 by a suicide truck bomb in Beirut.  Four Hezbollah members were indicted for the assassination and are currently being tried in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but others have linked the assassination to the Syrian government.  Then-U.S President George W. Bush in 2005 requested the Security Council investigate Hariri’s murder.  The UN established an international tribunal to investigate the former Lebanon prime minister’s assassination.  However, the Harriri UN Special Tribunal stretched out for years  and in January 2011, a UN prosecutor submitted a sealed indictment against suspects in the 2005 assassination of the  former Lebanese prime minister, concluding an investigation that has cast suspicion on top Syrian leaders and Hezbollah militants and contributed to the collapse this month of Lebanon’s pro-Western government.  The Hariri tribunal still continues with some of the accused being tried in absentia earlier this year.  Some may say justice is slow, but eventually it comes.