As the US government steps up military operations in the Caribbean Sea, Amnesty International is warning that any airstrikes authorised by Congress could violate international human rights law and may amount to unlawful executions.
Responding to reports of a draft resolution circulating in the US Congress to authorise the use of military force against alleged drug traffickers, Amnesty International USA’s Director of Security and Human Rights, Daphne Eviatar, said that if US legislators approve military action against suspected drug traffickers, “it would not change the fact that such lethal strikes amount to extrajudicial executions and have no legal justification whatsoever under international human rights law.”
“Congress must not rubber stamp further unlawful strikes and should instead work to hold the administration accountable for its illegal actions,” Eviatar added. Reports indicate that the draft resolution would authorise military force against “groups that the executive branch designates as terrorists and that the US government determines, in consultation with Congress, have either trafficked in drugs to finance terrorist activities or used terrorist tactics to advance narcotics-related enterprises.”
Recent incidents include US military strikes on vessels allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean, reportedly resulting in multiple deaths.
“Under international human rights law, intentional lethal force can only be used when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat, and when no less harmful means, such as capture, are available,” Eviatar said. “Moreover, any use of lethal force must be proportionate to the threat faced in the prevailing circumstances, particularly with a view to minimising risks posed to human life and personal integrity.”
On Friday, US Senators Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff introduced a War Powers Act resolution to block the use of US Armed Forces against certain non-state organisations, following multiple unauthorised military strikes on unverified alleged drug trafficking operations in the Southern Caribbean Sea.
“US authorities have no legal mandate to launch strikes or use military force in the Caribbean or elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere,” said Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, noting that the administration has refused to provide Congress with basic information about the strikes, including who was killed, why it was necessary to put servicemembers’ lives at risk, and why standard interdiction operations were not conducted.
Schiff, Democrat of California, added, “While we share with the executive branch the imperative of preventing and deterring drugs from reaching our shores, blowing up boats without any legal justification risks dragging the United States into another war and provoking unjustified hostilities against our own citizens.”
The resolution emphasises that trafficking of illegal drugs does not itself constitute an armed attack or imminent threat justifying military action, and that designating an entity as a foreign terrorist organisation does not give the US government legal authority to use military force.
It also underscores the importance of Congress retaining its constitutional power to declare war, while reiterating lawmakers’ commitment to providing the executive branch with resources to prevent and mitigate drug and narcotics trafficking into the United States.
Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, on Saturday urged the United Nations to investigate “crimes against humanity” allegedly conducted by US forces in the Caribbean. “The use of missiles and nuclear weapons to serially murder defenceless fishermen on a small boat are crimes against humanity that must be investigated by the UN,” Saab said in a statement.
