We welcome reports of the Biden Administration’s new process for tracking and taking action against the abuse of noncombatants by foreign forces using US-origin arms. Improved procedures to monitor the actual operational use of US weapons by partner countries, rather than simply verifying the end user of such equipment, are critical to ending long-standing shortfalls in the enforcement of existing US law.
The consistent implementation of this new guidance will be key to its success. It should be applied fairly across the board, without double standards applied to any recipient of US-origin military equipment.
Ensuring that US arms are used in a manner consistent with American values and law must be a permanent element of US foreign policy. We, therefore, reiterate our call on Congress to swiftly pass legislation that will codify improved monitoring and enforcement requirements to ensure that US-origin military equipment and training is not used by recipient countries in violation of international humanitarian law and counter to US national security interests.