Citizen-Based Global Affairs Agendas

U.S. Arms Trade and Human Rights Abuses

As part of the war on terror, the U.S. government plans to increase its training of foreign militaries. Congress and the public have a right to know who is being trained by the U.S. military and for what purpose. The joint Defense and State Department Foreign Military Training Report, currently required by Congress, annually informs the public of these activities. However the usefulness of this report is currently being questioned by some members of Congress, who see the reporting requirement as simply more work for the administration. Government accountability, and ultimately democracy, rely on transparency in such government operations as military training of foreign forces.

The Department of Defense runs some U.S. military training programs with virtually no oversight, and in several instances, these programs have undermined the stated will of Congress. For example, in 1992 Congress imposed a ban on training the Indonesian military through the International Military Education and Training account because of concern about Indonesia's poor human rights record. However, the Department of Defense continued training Indonesian forces, using funds out of another account. Congress did not discover the continued training until 1998.

Current U.S. law prohibits the training of foreign military units that have been involved in human rights abuses. To ensure that this law is observed, and ensure that situations such as what happened with Indonesia do not happen again, the administration must release as much information as possible about who is being trained, in what subjects, where, and by whom. The Foreign Military Training Report currently provides much of this information, but the government often classifies the important details. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), through its Arms Trade Working Group, and other advocacy organizations believe that the annual report should remain accessible and become even more transparent. FAS seeks to broaden and strengthen the community of people speaking out against arms sales, military aid, and training to states involved in conflict or with severe human rights problems.

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Related Action:

Support the "Stop Feeding the Monster" initiative of the Arms Trade Working Group and send a personalized letter to your congressional representative. To facilitate letter writing, a sample letter is posted at the Friends Committee on National Legislation Legislative Action Center website at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=247901&type=CO