The United States should included the civilian casualties of all government-sanctioned strikes abroad and not only those conducted by military forces, Human Rights First said in a news release on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2019) The United States should included the civilian casualties of all government-sanctioned strikes abroad and not only those conducted by military forces, Human Rights First said in a news release on Thursday."We encourage Congress to further strengthen transparency requirements with respect to the use of force in this year's defense authorization, including by ensuring that all US government strikes are reported on, not just those conducted by the military," Human Rights First National Security Advocacy Director Rita Siemion said in the release.
Earlier in the day, the US Department of Defense (DoD) reported that military operations killed about 120 civilians and wounded 65 others in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia in 2018. This number represents a significant decrease from the the nearly 800 deaths and over 200 injuries in 2017.
The report does not include tallies for casualties caused by non-military strikes, such as drone attacks carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency.
According to Siemion, the low death toll in the DoD report indicates that the department needs to improve its process for assessing civilian casualties.
On March 6, The White House announced President Donald Trump's decision to revoke an executive order that required the US administration to provide public reports on the number of civilians killed in military strikes outside of war zones.
Human Right First described Trump's decision to revoke the order as a dangerous step backwards with respect to transparency and accountability.
