UN chief echoes statement urging US to halt airstrikes on boats in Caribbean, Pacific

United Nations, Nov 1 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed a statement issued by the UN human rights chief which urges the United States to halt airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, a UN spokesperson said.

Earlier in the day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in the statement that the United States "must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them."

"Over 60 people have reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that find no justification in international law," the statement said.

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Turk's office, relayed his message on Friday at a regular UN briefing: "These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable. The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats."

She said Turk believed "airstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and in the Pacific violate international human rights law."

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief, told a daily briefing that the Secretary-General echoed what Volker said, adding that the operations must adhere to international standards, including limits on the lethal use of force, Xinhua news agency reported.

He noted that combating organized crime requires international cooperation as well as innovative public policies to address the root causes of the violence and drug addiction. "This is the analysis that Mr. Turk's office has developed, and we fully back it."

--IANS

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