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UN Report: US Strikes on Drug Boats May Be Crimes Against Humanity
Confirmed
In Short: In the Central African Republic, former president Francois Bozize will be tried in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity, marking a major test for the Special Criminal Court, which was created to investigate war crimes and atrocities committed during years of conflict.
A UN report has concluded that recent US airstrikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs may have breached international law and could constitute crimes against humanity, according to the BBC.
The report, while not binding, adds to international evidence gathered about potential crimes in the war on drugs, and could eventually be used in efforts to reach justice in international courts.
The UN fact-finding mission on Iran, which also released a report, found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab.
The mission further concluded that many of these gross violations amount to crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.
The SCC is in charge of investigating war crimes committed since 2003 in the CAR, which has experienced waves of armed conflict and hardline regimes since gaining independence from France in 1960.
The alleged crimes committed by Bozize’s security forces include murder, enforced disappearances, torture, and rape.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously stated that the overall operation is aimed at removing 'narco-terrorists from our hemisphere' and securing the US from 'the drugs that are killing our people'.
What this adds
The report adds to the ongoing debate about the legality and morality of military operations against drug trafficking, highlighting the potential for such actions to escalate into international crimes.
The SCC's proceedings in the Central African Republic also serve as a precedent for holding leaders accountable for crimes against humanity, regardless of their former positions.
Background
Since the Trump administration began targeting what it calls 'narcoterrorists' about one year ago, the death toll from US military strikes on vessels suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean has reached 231.
The strike targeted a vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean. SOUTHCOM released footage showing a missile hitting the boat, creating a massive inferno that briefly blocked the screen.
What's confirmed
- A landmark trial is set to begin in the Central African Republic, where former president Francois Bozize will be tried in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity.
- It also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
What's still developing
- The proceedings mark a major test for the Special Criminal Court, which was created to investigate war crimes and atrocities committed during years of conflict in the Central African Republic.
- In 2024, the SCC issued an international arrest warrant for the former president as part of an investigation into crimes against humanity committed by Bozize’s Presidential Guard in a civilian prison and a military training centre in the central town of Bossembele.
- The Constitutional Court ruled that he did not satisfy the “good morality” requirement because of his alleged crimes against humanity.
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- They also accuse Iran's theocratic government of carrying out crimes against humanity against its own people in a report published Thursday.
- "The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region," Kelly said Thursday.
- The Caribbean nation wants the court to determine whether the forced transportation and enslavement of Africans in Jamaica were lawful under fundamental principles of common law and whether the practice amounted to crimes against humanity under international law.