US must respect right to life, at home and abroad —UN expert

GENEVA — A UN rights expert voiced alarm Thursday at US signaling of a "shoot-to-kill" posture both extraterritorially, including on the high seas and in Venezuela, and in law enforcement operations at home.

Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, voiced concern that "shoot-to-kill" posturing in Washington risked "lowering the threshold for the use of lethal force."

"There are no exceptions to the absolute and universal prohibition of the arbitrary deprivation of life," said the independent expert, who is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but does not speak on behalf of the United Nations.

"International law does not allow states to kill on the basis of labels, perceptions of how someone appears, or allegations of wrongdoing," he said in a statement.

"Whether at sea, abroad, or at home, the use of lethal force must be strictly limited by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and precaution, and may be used only as a last resort to protect life."

His comments came after Washington's deployment of a huge naval force in the Caribbean, carrying out deadly strikes on boats it says were used for drug trafficking, seizing tankers and executing a stunning operation to seize Venezuela's leftist leader.

Tidball-Binz emphasized that unprovoked use of armed force on the sovereign territory of another state violates the UN Charter.

It could also constitute "the international crime of aggression attributable to individual political and military leaders involved," his statement said.

"Deaths resulting from such an act of aggression are arbitrary by definition," he said.

"Respect for the right to life is inseparable from respect for international law, including the prohibition on the use of force."

Tidball-Binz also expressed grave concern over the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis last week by a US immigration officer, demanding an "independent, impartial and transparent investigation."

"Where potentially unlawful deaths occur, investigations should comply with the Minnesota Protocol and victims' families must have access to truth, justice and reparation," he said.

The expert urged the United States to urgently review relevant laws, policies and rules of engagement around the use of lethal force domestically and extraterritorially.

"The right to life is non-derogable and non-negotiable," he said, insisting that "states must never normalize a 'shoot-to-kill' approach which erodes the strict and absolute limits international law places on the use of lethal force." — Reuters