New DoD Policy on Amends Needs to Address Transparency Gap

New information from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) reveals a previously unrecognized transparency gap in the U.S. military’s efforts to acknowledge and address civilian harm over the past five years. In a response to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, DoD said that it had not submitted reports to Congress on ex gratia payments, based on its assessment that such reports were only required if DoD made use of associated fiscal authorities, which it said it did not. Ex gratia payments, which include both condolence and solatia payments, are payments for civilian loss of life or injury…

© Human Rights Watch - mardi 23 avril 2019