Kadis calls for US to abide by rule of law after ICE deaths

European Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis on Wednesday called on the United States government to abide by the rule of law in light of the killing of nurse Alex Pretti by a US customs and border protection agent and the killing of Renee Good by an immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agent last month.

“There can be no double standards. The United States is a long-established democracy, which is founded on the same enlightenment ideals as our European democracies, and it actively participated in the last decades to develop the international legal framework on human rights,” he said during an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

He added that “recent events in Minneapolis, Minnesota have been met by concern people here in Europe”.

“We deplore the loss of life and express our deepest condolences to the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” he said.

“The European Commission trusts that the US judicial system and law enforcement will take all the necessary actions to ensure that justice is served and that human rights and the rule of law are respected.”

He then added that it has been noted that the US department of justice has “opened a civil rights investigation” into the shooting of Pretti.

“Let me be clear: the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the protection of human rights are not up for debate. They are the best tools we have to hold power to account, and to ensure that the rights and freedoms of everyone are upheld,” he said.

This, he added, is “not only for us in the European Union; it is true in the United States, and it is true anywhere in the world.”.

“We will continue to engage with the United States in an honest and open way on issues of concern, as we have always done. This is what partners do,” he said, before announcing that EU special representative for human rights Kajsa Ollongren will travel to Washington DC “in the coming weeks” to this end.

He said that “in this rapidly changing world, the European Union will continue to defend the values and ideals on which our union was founded, including human rights, democracy, and the rule of law”.

“We will continue to champion those values in our engagements around the world, because this is also in our strategic interest. Make no mistake: if these values are under threat anywhere, they are under threat everywhere,” he said.

Both Pretti and Goode had been killed during widespread protests against Operation Metro Surge, an ongoing operation undertaken by both ICE and the US’ customs and border protection with the stated aim of apprehending undocumented migrants and deporting them.

Alongside Good and Pretti, a third civilian, named as 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz, died in ICE custody after being arrested in Minneapolis. Thus far, more than 3,000 people have been arrested.