Unprovoked lethal strikes by the United States against vessels at sea may amount to international crimes: UN experts
Press releases
Special Procedures
04 November 2025
GENEVA -- Repeated and systematic lethal attacks by the United States military on boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific raise grave concerns about the commission of potential international crimes, UN experts* warned today.
"These attacks appear to be unlawful killings carried out by order of a Government, without judicial or legal process allowing due process of law," the experts said.
Since 2 September 2025 there have been at least 15 strikes reported by U.S. officials, with 64 persons alleged to have been killed, and three survivors.
U.S. officials have argued that the attacks were against suspected illicit drug traffickers, and submitted that they were conducted as part of a fight against "narco-traffickers" or "narco-terrorists" operated by groups which the United States has designated as terrorist organisations.
"However, these attacks do not appear to have been conducted within the context of national self-defence, an international or non-international armed conflict, nor against individuals posing an imminent threat to life, thus violating fundamental international human rights law prohibiting arbitrary deprivation of life," the experts said. "Unprovoked attacks and killings on international waters also violate international maritime laws. We have condemned and raised concerns about these attacks at sea to the United States Government."
"The repeated and systematic nature of these attacks - all occurring against small vessels without apparent attempt to apprehend the individuals or provide concrete evidence about why they were lawful targets - raise serious concerns about the commission of potential international crimes," they said.
Armed forces have an obligation to prevent international crimes from being committed by their personnel, the experts said.
"All members of armed forces must comply with their internal operating procedures and military manuals and strictly abide by international law. Officers should refuse superior orders where these are a manifest violation of the law, and may result in a serious violation of human rights, including extrajudicial executions," they said.
"The respect for the right to life is sacrosanct and must be upheld by all States."
The experts urged the United States to immediately halt all such attacks against vessels at sea and called for comprehensive and impartial investigations into all the attacks which have occurred since 2 September 2025, including guarantees of truth, justice, and reparations for the families of victims.
"All States must abide by their obligations under international law and the United Nations Charter," they said.
*The experts:
- Morris Tidball Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
- Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights
- George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.
Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
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