GENEVA - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday urged the United States to stop airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific and prevent the extrajudicial killing of people on board.
In a statement, Turk said that more than 60 people had reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks since early September, carried out by US armed forces against boats allegedly linked to drug trafficking. He said the attacks "find no justification in international law" and violate international human rights law.
"These attacks - and their mounting human cost - are unacceptable," Turk said. "The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them."
According to US media reports, the Trump administration has deployed an estimated 10,000 US troops, eight warships, one nuclear-powered submarine, and multiple fighter jets across the Caribbean region since September.
The United States, the statement noted, has argued that the actions are part of necessary anti-drug and counter-terrorism operations and are governed by international humanitarian law.
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However, Turk stressed that addressing cross-border drug trafficking should be treated as a law-enforcement matter rather than a military one, and that such operations must comply with the strict limitations on the use of lethal force set out under international human rights law.
He noted that under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life. Based on the very limited information released by the US authorities, none of the people on the targeted boats appeared to meet this threshold or otherwise justified the use of lethal force under international law, he added.
Turk called for prompt, independent, and transparent investigations into the attacks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday echoed the statement issued by Turk.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief, told a daily briefing that the Secretary-General echoed what Volker said, adding that the operations must adhere to international standards, including limits on the lethal use of force.
He noted that combating organized crime requires international cooperation as well as innovative public policies to address the root causes of the violence and drug addiction. "This is the analysis that Mr. Turk's office has developed, and we fully back it."
