Humanitarian aid restrictions may violate US law, US Democrats say

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Humanitarian aid restrictions may violate US law, US Democrats say

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of U.S. senators wants Congress’ watchdog agency to investigate whether controls on humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel and other foreign governments violate U.S. law, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The six senators – Chris Van Hollen, ***** Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch – wrote to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking him to launch an investigation by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office of the U.S. government’s implementation of laws regarding the delivery of humanitarian assistance. All of the senators are Democrats except Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats.

“In Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, Burma, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza, vital humanitarian assistance such as food, medical equipment, water purification systems, and other lifesaving goods have been blocked or restricted, directly and indirectly, by state and non-state actors,” they said in a letter, dated Monday and seen by Reuters, referring to Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Laws.

The Leahy Laws prohibit the supply of U.S. assistance to any foreign security force unit implicated in gross violations of human rights, including torture and extrajudicial killing. Section 620I bars assistance for countries that impede delivery of humanitarian aid.

Much recent concern has focused on Gaza. The United Nations and ************ representatives at the International Court of Justice have accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, after Israel began on March 2 to cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the ************ enclave. Israel has defended its blockade against aid entering Gaza, alleging that ****** steals supplies intended for the civilian population and distributes them to its own forces, an allegation that ****** denies.

Activists have long argued that the United States disregards its own laws in sending military and other assistance abroad.

Concern about civilians in Gaza has risen since Republican President Donald Trump, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, began his second term on January 20.

Aid workers also have accused Sudanese paramilitaries of constraining aid deliveries in territories where it is seeking to cement its control.

Rights groups sounded alarms on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved plans for an expanded offensive against the ************ militant group ****** that might include seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

The war in Gaza followed ******’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage.

Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to local health authorities, and left much of Gaza in ruins.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Matthew Lewis)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Humanitarian #aid #restrictions #violate #law #Democrats

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up