Feds Shut Down Tip Line for Foreign Military Abuses

The State Department has quietly dismantled the only public channel for reporting allegations of human rights abuses committed by foreign military units armed with American weapons. The Human Rights Reporting Gateway, introduced in 2022, was designed as a tip line for individuals and organizations to flag possible violations directly to the US government. Its removal has drawn sharp criticism from human rights advocates and the congressional aide who helped write the law requiring such a reporting mechanism, the BBC reports.

• The channel was launched during a push to enforce the Leahy Laws, which prohibit the government from funding foreign security force units when there is "credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights," per Human Rights Watch.
• An archived copy of the page states that people should report extrajudicial killing, forced disappearances, torture, and rape by security forces, adding that "other forms of cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment or punishment may also be considered gross violations of human rights for Leahy vetting purposes."
• The portal's shutdown comes at the same time as a broader State Department restructuring, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which has included layoffs and the trimming of human rights monitoring offices. Critics say the changes, in line with the Trump administration's "America First" policy, have undermined the department's ability to hold foreign security forces accountable for abuses—especially those committed by US allies.

• The State Department insists it still complies with the law and continues to receive reports through other channels, but former officials and advocates argue that the public's ability to report abuses has been "severely weakened."
• The US remains the world's largest supplier of military aid, and the Leahy Laws, named after former Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, were meant to ensure that American taxpayer dollars do not support foreign units that commit serious crimes.
• Tim Rieser, a former senior aide to Leahy, tells the BBC that the State Department is "clearly ignoring the law." Reisen, who wrote the amendment that requires information gathering, says the US "will find itself supporting foreign security forces that commit heinous crimes even though nothing is done about it. As a result, there will be less incentive for foreign governments to bring people who commit such crimes to justice."

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