The US State Department has recently taken down an online portal designed to report alleged human rights violations by foreign military units equipped with American weapons. Known as the Human Rights Reporting Gateway (HRG), this platform served as a formal “tip line” for the US government, offering the only publicly accessible channel for organizations or individuals to directly inform authorities of potential serious abuses by US-armed foreign forces. The removal of this portal has drawn sharp criticism from human rights advocates and a senior congressional aide who played a key role in drafting the legislation that mandated its creation. Despite the backlash, the State Department maintains that it continues to comply with the law. The HRG was established in 2022 under pressure to enforce updated provisions of the Leahy Law, named after former US Senator Patrick Leahy. This law requires the government to facilitate the receipt of information regarding alleged gross human rights violations by military units supported by Washington. Tim Rieser, a former senior aide to Senator Leahy who authored the 2011 amendment mandating such information gathering, expressed concern to the BBC, stating that the gateway’s removal indicates the State Department is “clearly ignoring the law.” Rieser warned that this move could lead to the US supporting foreign security forces involved in heinous crimes without accountability, thereby reducing the incentive for foreign governments to bring perpetrators to justice. In response, the State Department emphasized its ongoing efforts to receive reports of gross human rights violations and its engagement with credible organizations on a wide range of human rights issues, asserting that it remains committed to fulfilling its legal obligations.
US axes website for reporting human rights abuses by US-armed foreign forces
