Groups Cautiously Welcome Pentagon’s New Civilian Casualty Action Plan

Human rights groups were cautiously optimistic Thursday as the United States military—which has killed more civilians in foreign wars than any other armed force on Earth in the post-World War II era—published a plan meant to reduce non-combatant casualties.

Declaring that “the protection of civilians is a strategic priority as well as a moral imperative,” the Pentagon’s 46-page Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP) lays out a series of policy steps aimed at preventing and responding to the death and injury of non-combatants.

These steps include establishing a civilian protection center of excellence, improving commanders’ understanding of civilian environments, developing standardized incident reporting and data management processes, and improving the military’s ability to assess and respond when non-combatants are harmed by U.S. attacks.

“Today’s announcement marks a promising first step for the Department of Defense to adequately address and prevent future civilian harm caused by U.S. military operations,” Daphne Eviatar, Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights program director, said in a statement. “However, how and when the military implements these new policies will be critical.”

“The U.S. also needs to acknowledge and address the many previous cases of civilian harm that have so far been denied or ignored,” she added. “Amnesty has extensively reported on the impacts of U.S. military operations on civilians around the world, and will continue to monitor those impacts while we make recommendations to the Department of Defense to help ensure that human rights are not violated in the name of national security.”

The U.K.-based airstrike monitor group Airwars—which along with partners last month published recommendations for the Pentagon plan—also called the document “a significant step for transparency.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.