Unsplash/R. DeAnda White House in Washington. UN experts demand that the US stop attacks on ships in international waters International Law
A panel of independent UN experts called on the United States to immediately stop targeting ships in international waters, calling the deaths of at least 223 people over the past year a “gross violation of the right to life” and international law.
According to experts, since September 2, 2025, the US military has attacked at least 68 ships in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. In most cases, everyone on board died; in others, people were reported missing. The United States says the vessels were transporting drugs for groups designated as terrorist organizations under American law.
Experts rejected Washington’s legal arguments, saying drug trafficking does not constitute an armed attack on a state and does not give rise to the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
“From the perspective of international humanitarian law, there is no armed conflict involving the United States because there is no hostilities between the two parties,” the statement said. – The United States unilaterally kills people without any legal basis or legal process. Persons suspected of drug trafficking are not combatants. These killings are extrajudicial and unlawful.”
Under international law, experts noted, the use of lethal force is permissible only to protect life when there is an imminent threat. The United States did not claim that such a threat existed and admitted that it could have intercepted ships but did not do so.
The experts also recalled that states have an obligation to immediately conduct search and rescue operations to rescue people stranded by military actions. International maritime law requires a law enforcement, not a military, approach to combating drug trafficking, and does not provide grounds for the destruction of ships and crews. conducting “independent, effective and transparent” investigations into all deaths, bringing to justice all those responsible, and providing compensation to victims and their families.
Independent experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. They are not UN employees and do not receive wages for their work. Experts act in their personal capacity and independently of governments or any organizations.