Earlier this
month, the Obama administration revealed that it is poised to sell up to twelve
light attack aircraft to Nigeria in a bid to support the country’s fight
against Boko Haram.
This might
sound laudable at first glance, but in reality, selling arms to Nigeria would
mean
the United States essentially breaking the so-called Leahy Law. Passed in
1997 by amending the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, it prohibits the
United States from exporting arms to “any unit of the security forces of a foreign
country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has
committed a gross violation of human rights.”
The Leahy Law’s
three-stage vetting process is stringent. It begins with the appropriate U.S.
embassy carrying background checks on the individuals or units applying for
assistance, by analyzing the Department of State (DoS) International Vetting
and Security Tracking (INVEST) system, DoS Country Reports, cooperating with
local police forces or even interviewing individual victims where necessary. If
any credible information is found, the embassy can bar further support or refer
to Washington.
In Washington,
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) receives the results of
the ambassadorial vetting and conducts investigations of its own. Again, if
credible information that the violation or issue is serious enough to prohibit
U.S. involvement is found, support is refused and the findings recorded in
INVEST. Lastly, if further review of the information is required, then DRL will
assemble a broader team of State Department representatives, who may request
further information from the embassy in the country in question before a
decision is made. With such a meticulous evaluation process, it is puzzling
that there is any expectation that the Nigerian military will possibly pass the
test.
Source: The
national
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