The Leahy Law prohibits the United States from providing security assistance to any unit of a foreign security force when there is credible information that the unit has committed a gross violation of human rights. But for years there has been a persistent loophole in the law’s implementation: non-traceable security assistance.
A new fact sheet from the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), “Closing a Leahy Law Loophole: The ‘Duty to Inform’ and Human Rights Vetting for Non-Traceable Assistance,” takes stock of a new amendment to the Leahy Law that seeks to address this loophole and makes recommendations on how the U.S. government can best adhere to its stipulations and improve the law’s effectiveness.
This fact sheet is also available as a PDF.
