ICYMI: At Hearing, Warren Presses CENTCOM and AFRICOM Commanders on Steps to Reduce Civilian Harm Caused by U.S.-Origin Weapons and U.S. Military Assistance
“The protections that we have for civilians both in the statute and in guidance can't just be pieces of paper. They need to have a real impact.”
Washington, D.C. - At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned General Michael E. Kurilla, Commander of the United States Central Command, and General Michael E. Langley, Commander of the United States Africa Command, about measures needed to prevent and respond to civilian harm caused by weapons and assistance provided by the United States to its military partners.
Senator Warren highlighted the Department of Defense’s (DoD) lack of data collection on how weapons are used and lack of coordination with the Department of State (State), which has an internal database with that data, to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protocols to mitigate civilian harm. General Kurilla said he supported “any time we can do anything to do civilian harm mitigation,” including obtaining more data about whether partners who receive U.S. weapons are using them against civilians.
Senator Warren also expressed concern about DoD’s failure to adhere to Leahy laws, which require DoD and State to vet foreign forces for any gross violations of human rights before providing U.S.-funded military assistance. Senator Warren called for a strengthening of tools to prevent civilian harm. General Langley agreed that the U.S. should not be providing assistance to militaries that are notorious for targeting civilians or have overthrown their democratically elected governments.
Transcript: Hearing to receive testimony on the posture of the United States Central Command and United States Africa Command in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Future Years Defense Program.
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
March 6, 2024
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you. The United States has put a number of rules in place to ensure that we don't inadvertently contribute to civilian casualties. But rules on the books are not enough. I want to make sure that these rules work and that our military leadership is putting the protection of civilians at the forefront. Defense Secretary Austin has said preventing civilian harm is "A moral and strategic imperative." During your confirmation hearing, General Kurilla, you agreed and you said you would work to improve those processes. The DoD has taken an important step in that direction when it issued the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Instruction last December to provide guidance on how the department should prevent and respond to civilian harm. I want to thank you for that. Among other things, the guidance directs the department to identify whether the partners and allies we provide weapons to will mitigate civilian harm.
General Kurilla, can we get an accurate picture of whether U.S. Arms transfers contribute to civilian harm if we don't collect information about how these weapons are actually used?
General Michael E. Kurilla, Commander of the United States Central Command: I am not involved in advising of the ground operations –
Senator Warren: I understand that – I understand that – but do you need information about how the weapons are used to figure out if the rules are effective?
General Kurilla: To be able to answer that last question, we would.
Senator Warren: Yes, alright. It would seem to me to be crucial. But, the Government Accountability Office identified significant gaps in our oversight about how the weapons are used particularly in Yemen. In response, the Department of State established a Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance to investigate and it created an internal database to track reports of partner governments suspected of using U.S. weapons against civilians. And yet, the Department of Defense has not created a similar process or committed to work with the State Department on its efforts to get the information needed for civilian harm.
General Kurilla, why is that? Why wouldn't DoD want the information on whether our partners are using U.S. weapons against civilian populations?
General Kurilla: I can't speak for why the Department of Defense does not have that.
Senator Warren: But I take it, you would like to see it?
General Kurilla: Any time we can do anything to do civilian harm mitigation – once, as you mentioned, we stood up our own Civilian Harm Mitigation Response team, we have hired nine of the 10 individuals –
Senator Warren: And I’m grateful for that. I'm just asking about getting the data. More data helps us make better decisions.
General Kurilla: Better data always does. I will tell you, it will be difficult data to get, though.
Senator Warren: Okay, I understand that. But the State Department has committed to that. I would like to see DoD committed as well. Now, another tool that we have for preventing civilian harm is Leahy laws, which require DoD and State to vet foreign forces for any gross violations of human rights before providing U.S.-funded assistance. This vetting process is a cornerstone of our human rights policy and is supposed to ensure we don't contribute to human rights abuses abroad. However, DoD seems to find ways around it. I want to take one example.
General Langley, should the U.S. provide assistance to a military that is notorious for targeting civilians or that recently overthrew its democratically elected government?
General Michael E. Langley, Commander of the United States Africa Command: Senator, no.
Senator Warren: Oh, good! I like that answer. That is exactly right. And yet the U.S. military's exercises last year and planned exercises for this year included Mali and Sudan where that has occurred. DoD claimed that under the Leahey law, it does not need to vet foreign forces for human rights abuses when it engages in activities such as joint military exercises because DoD does not technically categorize that help as assistance.
When Senator Cardin and I found out about this practice, we sent a letter to DoD raising our concerns. I am glad that DoD stopped its exercise plans in Mali and Sudan but we need to proactively close this gap and protect civilians going forward. The protections that we have for civilians both in the statute and in guidance can't just be pieces of paper. They need to have a real impact. We need to strengthen our tools for preventing civilian harm and I look forward to working with the committee and with you to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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