The United States Needs a Strategy for (Human) Security Cooperation

Abstract

In 2017, Congress mandated that the Department of Defense (DOD) capacity building for partner nations (PNs) must promote the observance of and respect for the law of armed conflict, human rights, the rule of law, and civilian control of the military. More recently, the DOD has published a comprehensive action plan to implement new civilian harm mitigation and response procedures across the defense spectrum, including as a component of security cooperation programs. These required approaches signal recognition that respecting the rights and security of civilians during military operations leads to better strategic outcomes. Currently, this mandate is being addressed through a coursework requirement on the basics of international human rights law instruments. We argue here that if human rights are to become integral to the security paradigms of PNs, then prior to U.S. engagement, the DOD should establish a baseline assessment of human rights in PNs, and integrate human rights training across the curriculum, rather than as a separate module.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2022
Accession Number
AD1207895

Entities

People

  • Laura R. Cleary
  • Linda S. Bishai

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Cooperation
  • Curriculum
  • Department Of Defense
  • Education
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Integrals
  • Law
  • Military Operations
  • Military Training
  • National Security
  • Psychology
  • Security
  • Societies
  • Students
  • Training
  • United States

Readers

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