New Guide: Using the U.S. Leahy Law to Curb Military and Police Abuses
A powerful tool exists to curb impunity for abuses committed by military and police in countries that receive U.S. military assistance: the Leahy Law. The Latin America Working Group Education Fund and Center for International Policy recently published a guide to help human rights defenders, journalists, and schaolars understand how this law is implemented.
Introduced by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy in the 1990s, the Leahy Law prohibits the United States from providing assistance to any foreign military or police unit if there is credible information that such unit has committed grave human rights violations with impunity. The law requires the U.S. government to screen potential units and to deny assistance to that unit if it has committed gross human rights violations with impunity. If the recipient government takes “effective steps to bring the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice,” the U.S. government can resume assistance to that unit.
In the Western Hemisphere, in countries such as Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras, the Leahy Law has been used to suspend assistance to especially abusive units and to encourage police and military forces to improve their practices with respect to human rights.
In order to use it effectively, it is important to fully understand how the Leahy Law works. This concise, easy-to-follow guide provides a basic understanding of the Leahy Law, including the latest updates in implementation. The guide explains how individuals and organizations working to encourage military and police agencies to promote and respect human rights can actively use the Leahy Law.
Click here to see the guide in English.