Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mrs Mary Robinson has said she is "very troubled" about the situation in Iraq and was highly critical of the way in which the war was fought.
Speaking on the Today with Pat Kennyradio show this morning Ms Robinson said that even if the military attack has dealt with the issue of human rights in Iraq, it was "not a legitimate reason for going into Iraq under our understanding of international law.
"Certain states cannot arrogate to themselves . . . this country has very bad human rights problems in we go with our tanks and guns," she added.
Mrs Robinson is worried that Iraq "has become an area of insurgency".
"Its almost as if this approach of the war on terror is actually inflating the number of terrorists because it is not so bad to be at war against the so-called great satan," she said. "The whole region is angry and hot".
Mrs Robinson said she was also concerned that humanitarian aid workers were being put at risk by the military. She said there was a "narrowing of the space for UN workers".
"There is confusion because the soldiers are trying to be popular in what they are doing. The military can be very supportive of humanitarian work . . . but when they confuse and try to do the humanitarian [role] they put humanitarian workers at risk." Mrs Robinson said.