UN experts slam US blockade on Venezuela
The United States has deployed a major military force in the Caribbean and has recently intercepted oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions.
"There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade," the UN experts said in a joint statement.
A blockade is a prohibited use of military force against another country under the UN Charter, they added.
"It is such a serious use of force that it is also expressly recognised as illegal armed aggression under the General Assembly's 1974 Definition of Aggression," they said.
"As such, it is an armed attack under article 51 of the Charter -- in principle giving the victim state a right of self-defence."
US President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of using oil, the South American country's main resource, to finance "narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murders, and kidnappings".
Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking. It says Washington is seeking to overthrow its president, Nicolas Maduro, in order to seize Venezuelan oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air strikes on boats that Washington alleges, without showing evidence, were transporting drugs. More than 100 people have been killed.
Congress should 'intervene'
"These killings amount to violations of the right to life. They must be investigated and those responsible held accountable," said the experts.
"Meanwhile, the US Congress should intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade," they added.
They called on countries to take measures to stop the blockade and illegal killings, and bring perpetrators justice.
The four who signed the joint statement are: Ben Saul, special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism; George Katrougalos, the expert on promoting a democratic and equitable international order; development expert Surya Deva; and Gina Romero, who covers the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
UN experts are independent figures mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
On Tuesday at the UN in New York, Venezuela, having requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council, accused Washington of "the greatest extortion known in our history".