UN rights chief condemns US vessel strikes, calls for investigations

The United Nations human rights chief on Friday condemned recent United States military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, calling the attacks unacceptable, urging they stop and demanding an investigation. Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the strikes — carried out since early September against boats the U.S. government has said were carrying illegal narcotics from South America — raise serious questions about compliance with international human rights law.

Speaking on Türk’s behalf at a regular U.N. briefing, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the strikes and their mounting human cost are unacceptable and that the United States must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent extrajudicial killings of people aboard these boats. Shamdasani added that Türk believes U.S. airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific violate international human rights law and called for prompt, independent and transparent investigations.

U.S. officials have framed the campaign as an effort to curb illicit drug trafficking and have linked elements of it to broader counterterrorism measures. Defense Secretary Pete...