LOC16:47
13:47 GMT
GENEVA, Oct 31 (KUNA -- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stressed on Friday that a series of airstrikes carried out by the United States against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific allegedly linked to drug trafficking, constitute a violation of international human rights law.
In a statement issued from Geneva, Turk said that "more than 60 people have been killed in a continuing series of attacks conducted by US armed forces since early September in circumstances that have no justification under international law" emphasizing that such attacks represent "unacceptable human losses" and must be stopped immediately.
He underlined that the United States must take all necessary measures to prevent the extrajudicial execution of people aboard these boats regardless of the alleged criminal acts attributed to them adding that the use of lethal force is permissible only as a last resort against an imminent threat to life.
Turk also noted that Washington justifies these operations as part of its counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism efforts claiming they fall under international humanitarian law.
However he stressed that "combating cross-border illicit drug trafficking is as long agreed among States a law-enforcement matter subject to the strict limitations on the use of lethal force set forth in international human rights law."
He added that "the limited information made public by US authorities does not indicate that any of the targeted individuals posed an imminent threat that would justify the use of lethal armed force against them" calling for "prompt independent and transparent investigations into these attacks."
Turk urged the US government to fully comply with international law and with the anti-narcotics treaties to which it is a party.
He called on U.S to rely on established law enforcement methods such as legally intercepting boats detaining suspects and ensuring prosecution in accordance with due process and fair trial principles.
The High Commissioner emphasized that respect for the rule of law and human rights must remain at the heart of international efforts to combat organized crime adding that the United States "has long been one of the leading defenders of these principles and must continue to uphold them." (end)
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