UN rights expert calls on Thai authorities to investigate killings during recent drug crackdown

Deeply concerned by reports of more than 100 deaths during Thailand's recent crackdown on drug trafficking, the top United Nations expert on summary or arbitrary executions today urged authorities in that country to carry out their duties in strict compliance with international human rights standards.

In a statement from Geneva today, Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, cited allegations of excessive use of force resulting in extrajudicial executions in the course of the ongoing law enforcement operations by Thai authorities.

Her call for strict compliance with international human rights law by Thai law enforcement and security officials also stressed the need to rigorously follow "the strict limits on the use of lethal force, as stipulated under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law-enforcement Officials."

Ms. Jahangir also called on the Thai authorities to quickly carry out transparent and independent investigations into each individual death, in order to assess the accountability of law enforcement and security officials. "The perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to justice in accordance with national and international standards," she said.