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UN expert says recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug vessels amount to "illegal killings" and warns against labeling cartels as terrorists
Summary
At a UN press briefing, the special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights called recent U.S. military strikes on drug-trafficking vessels "illegal killings under international law," warned against treating organized crime as terrorism and urged states to prioritize law enforcement and demand-reduction policies.
Professor Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, told a New York press briefing that he condemns recent U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels as "illegal killings under international law." He said there is no legal authority to use lethal military force on the high seas to kill suspected drug traffickers and described the attacks as inconsistent with the law of the sea and criminal-law approaches to organized crime.
"I condemn these strikes as illegal killings under international law," Saul said, adding later in the briefing, "I see this as murder." He referred to an eighth strike in the…
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