Democrat-Backed Bill Would Codify New CAT Policy, Create More Weapons Export Oversight
Democrats introduced a bill this week that would build on the Biden administration’s increased emphasis on human rights concerns when adjudicating foreign arms sales. The Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act of 2023, introduced in the House by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and in the Senate by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., would codify aspects of the administration's recently revised Conventional Arms Transfer policy and would increase congressional oversight of arms sales.
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If the bill is enacted, export-controlled weapons shipments, “regardless of monetary value,” would be subject to congressional approval if the State Department has “credible information” that the receiving country’s government has been “deposed” by the military or has committed human rights violations and hasn’t been held accountable. The bill also would limit sales to foreign security forces involved in human rights abuses, require a State Department report on end-use monitoring activities and more.
Menendez said the U.S. should be “prioritizing a government’s human rights record before providing them access to our arms and defense services.” The lawmakers said their bill “seeks to build” on the new CAT policy to “codify it into law so that it cannot be easily undone by future administrations.”
The bill comes about a month after the Biden administration released its revised CAT policies (see 2302230049), which say the U.S. will block arms transfers if they are “more likely than not” to lead to human rights abuses. Arms trade experts have said they're concerned the CAT policies are becoming too politicized, pointing to the fact that the latest policies were the third in as many administrations (see 2303100064).