This commentary is by Lewis Mudge, a member of the Charlotte Selectboard. He is the Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. This commentary was written in a private capacity.
While U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy has wrapped up his lengthy career, he will continue to be celebrated for his many accomplishments, the effects of which reverberate beyond Vermont.
I have seen Sen. Leahy plenty of times at events over the years, though I never talked with him face to face. But I feel like I met him — in a way — eight years ago on a muddy hillside in Central Africa.
I was working in Burundi in early 2015 and I realized, on that day, I’d gone too far; I should not have tried for the Kibindi Forest. Local militia tied to the ruling party began to appear around the car and ask aggressive questions.
I was investigating a spate of extrajudicial executions against rebels committed by the police and army. Over the course of several days, I documented at least 47 executions of rebels who had surrendered.
The executions were committed in front of scores of villagers.
Over the course of two weeks, I spoke with over 50 people, 32 of whom had witnessed these events. They described how the fighters clearly surrendered and put down their weapons before the security forces gunned them down.
Villagers explained how groups of rebels were coaxed out of the forests by the authorities, only to be killed. In one of the most serious incidents — in the Kibindi Forest — 17 fighters who surrendered were made to lie down in a line, shot dead and their bodies were kicked down a hill. I was told there were still traces of blood, clothing and bullet casings on the hill, so I went there to confirm. I found this evidence, and more, but my driver and I also raised the ire of the local militia, and it took all our negotiating skills and a bunch of luck to leave the forest.
When we made it back to Bujumbura, I dedicated my time to writing up our research findings in a report. It was not my first time documenting such crimes, but the evidence was overwhelming and it pointed to state security agents. Because of the scale, it was new territory.
In the days to come, my advocacy focused on the local government to hold commanders responsible. We also warned Burundi’s partners of the potential for more violence perpetrated by the security forces as protests against the government and president picked up steam. It was in one of these briefings that a U.S. embassy official told me that our research findings could “trigger Leahy Laws.”
In the late 1990s, our recently retired senator was the force behind legislation that would ensure American tax dollars were not driving the types of abuses that we seek to prevent. The legislation would be known as the Leahy Laws and they require that “No assistance shall be furnished … 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 Laws are an essential component of U.S. foreign policy. At the core, they are designed to prevent human rights abusers from receiving U.S. assistance, to keep the U.S. government from becoming complicit in foreign human rights abuses, and to serve as a tool for producing change.
It is a tool for those trying to prevent the types of crimes we documented in the Kibindi Forest.
In January 2015, the Burundian military still benefited greatly from U.S. assistance. In 2014, U.S. support for Burundi’s National Defense Force was projected at $63.5 million. While the U.S. did continue to support some Burundian soldiers operating in a peacekeeping mission in Somalia, application of the Leahy Laws ensured that support to the individual units we were investigating was suspended.
Eight years on, the legislation continues to evolve. Last September, the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor launched a new reporting tool, the Human Rights Reporting Gateway, that enables the public to alert the government of serious human rights violations. The State Department hopes the information uploaded will help its staffers determine which foreign security forces should not receive assistance. This vetting process is required by the Leahy Laws.
Documenting gross human rights violations and advocating for change can be a long slog. It’s work that is measured in small victories and, from day to day, it feels like the abusers enjoy total impunity. But when we have effective tools, human rights advocates can push the ball in the right direction.
Sen. Leahy has done more than most to ensure we have such capabilities: He was able to craft practical legislation that also serves as a moral guide, challenging the U.S. to do better. From that muddy hillside in northern Burundi to Charlotte, I tip my hat to the senator and say “thank you.”
