Tehran: The United Nations human rights chief has expressed grave concerns over airstrikes conducted by the United States on boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking activities in the Caribbean and the Pacific. According to the UN official, these actions violate international human rights law and must be immediately halted.
According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Volker Trk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced the first direct condemnation from a UN body regarding these US military operations. Trk stated that over 60 individuals have been killed in a series of attacks by US armed forces since early September, with no circumstances justifying such actions under international law.
The senior UN official urged the United States to cease its airstrikes and prevent further ‘extrajudicial killings’ of those aboard the targeted vessels. “The US must halt such attacks and take all necessary measures to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them,” Trk emphasized.
Trk highlighted that international human rights law permits the use of lethal force only as a last resort against individuals posing an imminent threat to life. He refuted the US’s justification that the individuals on board the boats presented any such threat. He called for “prompt, independent, and transparent investigations” into the attacks carried out by the United States.
The US military operations, which began on September 2, have targeted boats off Venezuela’s coast and the western coast of Latin America as part of a campaign purportedly aimed at combating drug trafficking. Since the commencement of these strikes, at least 61 people aboard the vessels have reportedly been killed.
Venezuela has strongly denied the allegations made by the US, accusing Washington of attempting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro’s government and carry out a regime change in the country. Venezuela maintains that its forces are already actively engaged in combating drug trafficking activities.