In short
- UN special rapporteur Ben Saul said there were reasonable grounds to believe 68 US attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law.
- Saul said at least 68 US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, outside US territorial waters, had killed more than 220 people since September last year.
- The US military said it killed four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean two days before the UN report was published.
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said Operation Southern Spear is aimed at removing “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere”.
- Saul said that even if the targets were members of designated terrorist groups, they had not staged an armed attack on the US that would trigger a right to self-defence.
A United Nations report published on Monday concluded that US airstrikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs breached international law and could constitute crimes against humanity. UN special rapporteur Ben Saul said at least 68 US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, outside US territorial waters, had killed more than 220 people.
What did the UN report conclude?
In a briefing note released by the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Ben Saul said that even if the targets could be identified as members of designated terrorist groups, they had not staged an armed attack on the United States that would trigger a right to self-defence under international law.
Saul wrote that “such attacks amount to serial extrajudicial killings in violation of the right to life, being unjustified in national or personal self-defence or under international humanitarian law, the international law of the sea, narcotics suppression conventions, or international counter-terrorism law”. He concluded: “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law.”
Other UN experts have previously found grounds to believe that US strikes in Iran amounted to war crimes.
What has the US military said?
Two days before the report was released, the US military said it had killed four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean. Southcom, which commands US forces in the region, said in a statement: “Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed four narco-terrorists.” The statement was accompanied by a video.
How has the US justified the strikes?
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the overall operation is aimed at removing “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere” and securing the United States from “the drugs that are killing our people”. The operation, known as Southern Spear, was launched in early September. Officials have not offered definitive evidence that the vessels targeted are involved in trafficking.
Who has criticised the strikes?
Experts have questioned the legality of the strikes since the operation began, and the campaign drew strong criticism from Latin American leaders whose citizens were targeted. Nicolás Maduro, who was the Venezuelan leader at the time and opposed the strikes, was seized by US forces in a night-time raid on the capital Caracas at the beginning of this year. Another critic, Colombia’s left-wing president at the time Gustavo Petro, stood down in August after a Trump-backed candidate won June’s presidential election.
Has the White House responded?
The White House and the State Department were approached for comment on the report. The administration has separately said it would bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House events.
Frequently asked questions
What did the UN report say about US strikes on drug boats?
UN special rapporteur Ben Saul concluded the strikes breached international law and that there were reasonable grounds to believe 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder.
How many people have been killed in US strikes on alleged drug vessels?
The UN report says at least 68 US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific killed more than 220 people, and cites a figure of 223 killed in the 68 attacks it examined.
Where have the US strikes taken place?
The strikes took place in the Caribbean and the Pacific, outside US territorial waters.
What is Operation Southern Spear?
It is the US military operation launched in early September. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said it aims to remove “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere”.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)