US axes website for reporting human rights abuses by US-armed foreign forces

Summary

US axes website for reporting human rights abuses by US-armed foreign forcesTom BatemanState Department correspondentGetty ImagesAllegations of excessive use of force during anti-government protests in Colombia in 2021 were reported on the tip lineThe US State Department has removed an online portal for reporting alleged human rights violations by foreign military units supplied with American weapons.The Human Rights Reporting Gateway (HRG) acted as a formal "tip line" to the US government.It was the only publicly accessible channel of its kind for organisations or individuals to inform it directly of potentially serious abuses by US-armed foreign forces.Its deletion has been condemned by human rights campaigners and by a senior congressional aide who drafted the law requiring it. The State Department insisted it was still abiding by the law.The portal was established in 2022 following pressure on successive administrations to abide by updated provisions of the Leahy Law, named after former US Senator Patrick Leahy. These require the government to "facilitate receipt" of information on alleged gross violations of human rights by military units supplied by Washington.Among the cases submitted via the HRG was the alleged excessive use of force by security forces during anti-government protests in Colombia, while several cases were due to be submitted relating to US-armed units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the occupied West Bank, according to Amnesty International.BBC NewsThe State Department portal where violations could be reported - before it was taken downTim Rieser, former senior aide to Senator Leahy who wrote the 2011 amendment mandating information gathering, told the BBC the gateway's removal meant the State Department was "clearly ignoring the law".He added it was a further sign that "the entire human rights architecture" within the department was being "rendered largely ineffective"."The United States will find itself supporting foreign security for...