Tell Your Members of Congress to Support the Protection of Civilians in Military Operations Act and the “Department of Defense Civilian Harm Transparency Act

TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

TELL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO SUPPORT THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AND TO CLOSE THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION CAMP!

In recent years we’ve seen a slew of evidence, including from Amnesty International, that the U.S. government has failed to adequately protect civilians in conducting lethal operations abroad in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

We’ve also seen the U.S. government continue to detain 36 Muslim men at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, most without charge or trial.

Every year Congress passes a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which governs much of what the military does and how it partners with other governments. This year, members of Congress have proposed important provisions that would help protect civilians worldwide and help close the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Please tell your members of Congress to support the proposed provisions in the bill that would better protect civilians from harm by U.S. military operations, require the military to be more transparent about how it engages in armed conflicts, restrict military funding for rights-abusing governments, and ultimately help close Guantanamo.

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Dear Member of Congress,

In recent years we’ve seen a slew of evidence that the U.S. government has failed to adequately protect civilians in conducting lethal operations abroad. Reports from Amnesty International on U.S. military operations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia confirm many more civilians have been killed or injured by U.S. lethal actions than the U.S. has acknowledged, and that the vast majority of victims have received no assistance whatsoever from the U.S. government. Recent reporting by the New York Times confirms these findings, as does a recent analysis released by the independent RAND Corporation.    
 
I urge you to support the proposed provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would address this problem by creating:

- An independent commission to review the harm caused to civilians by the U.S. “war on terror” and identify what went wrong and how to better protect civilians in the future;

- An office within the Department of Defense staffed and funded to focus on preventing civilian harm from U.S. military operations, to address past harms and to improve civilian casualty investigations and response; and

- Requirements that the Department of Defense report to Congress on how it uses lethal force and investigates and responds to claims of civilian harm.

In addition, loopholes in current law allow the U.S. to provide military funding and arms sales to countries with military forces that have repeatedly abused human rights and violated international law.

- I urge you to support provisions in the NDAA that would require the U.S. government to carefully consider the human rights records of all potential recipients of military funding and weapons systems, to prevent the U.S. from supporting human rights abuses committed by foreign military partners.

Finally, current law also restricts where the U.S. government can send the remaining 36 men detained indefinitely at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. This makes it difficult for the Biden administration to close this prison once and for all, and to end the unconscionable practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial.

- I urge you to support an NDAA that eliminates restrictions on detainee transfers, both to the United States and to other countries.

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