U.S. Overhauls Arms Transfer Policy, Requiring Stricter Human Rights Review

Washington D.C./24.02.23/Turan:  The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled a new policy for transferring arms to foreign countries that prioritizes protecting human rights, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"This is a forward-looking policy that isn’t retroactive," State Department's spokesperson Ned Price told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

"... It is a rigorous set of criteria that looks at everything from the degree to which the transfer supports U.S. strategic and foreign policy interests, the risk that the recipient may use the arms transfer to contribute to a violation of human rights or international humanitarian law, the overall stability of the potential recipients’ political system, and many more where that came from," Price said.

A new memo on the Conventional Arms Transfer policy says the Administration will decline the transfer of weapons and munitions if it assesses that they will “more likely than not” be used to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, attacks on civilians or other human rights abuses.

This is a significant departure from the old standard of having actual knowledge of a government committing civilian harm with U.S.-supplied weapons.

The new policy encourages a close review for the export of arms on a case-by-case basis, and to “exercise restraint in transfers of weapons systems that may be destabilizing or dangerous to international peace and security,” as Washington seeks to “serve as a model for other countries’ policies on the responsible international transfer of conventional arms,” according to administration officials.

The arms transfer policy was last updated 5 years ago under the Trump administration and placed an explicit emphasis on the economic benefits of selling more military equipment overseas.

Alex Raufoglu