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"Leahy Law" human rights provisions and security assistance : issue overview / Nina M. Serafino, coordinator, June S. Beittel, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Liana Rosen

Author
Serafino, Nina M.
Published
[Washington, District of Columbia] : Congressional Research Service, [2014]
[Getzville, New York] : William S. Hein & Company, [2015]
Physical Description
1 online resource (25 pages).
Additional Creators
Beittel, June S., Blanchard, Lauren Ploch, Rosen, Liana, and Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
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Summary
First sponsored in the late 1990s by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the 'Leahy laws' (sometimes referred to as the 'Leahy amendments') are currently manifest in two places: one is Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, which prohibits the furnishing of assistance authorized by the FAA and the Arms Export Control Act to any foreign security force unit that is credibly believed to have committed a gross violation of human rights. The second is a recurring provision in annual defense appropriations that prohibits the use of Department of Defense (DOD) funds to support any training program (as defined by DOD) involving a foreign security force unit if there is credible information that the unit has committed a gross violation of human rights. The Leahy laws touch upon many issues of interest to Congress. These range from current vetting practices and implementation (involving human rights standards, relations and policy objectives with specific countries, remediation mechanisms, and inter-office and inter-agency coordination, among other issues), to legislative efforts to increase alignment between the Foreign Assistance Act and DOD restrictions, to levels and forms of resources dedicated to conduct vetting. More broadly, overarching policy questions persist about the utility and desirability of applying the Leahy laws, and the appropriate balance between promoting respect for human rights and maintaining the ability to fulfill other U.S. policy goals relating to national security needs.
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Note
"January 29, 2014."
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references.
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