In the News
Audit Finds That U.S. Overpaid Blackwater
Wall Street Journal - 6/17/2009
Audit finds Blackwater didn't pay for contract infractions
CNN - 6/16/2009
2 U.S. Contractors Transferred From Iraqi Jail
Washington Post - 6/15/2009
Human Rights First Unveils Plan to End Contractor Impunity
President-elect Obama has stated that America's reputation, and its national security interests, have been damaged by contractor abuse. Human Rights First offers a step-by-step plan for President-elect Obama to establish effective accountability mechanisms for U.S. government contractors working abroad.
Accompanying the blueprint is a report card grading the performance of key U.S. government bodies on contractor accountability since September 2007, when 17 Iraqi civilians were killed by Blackwater contractors at Nisoor Square in Baghdad.
Accountability for Private Security Contractors
There are as many or more than 180,000 private contractors in Iraq today – outnumbering U.S. military forces there – and thousands more in Afghanistan. A significant proportion of the contractors in Iraq – as many as fifty thousand or more – are armed and carrying out military-style security functions, many of them for a welter of U.S. government agencies.
But while the ranks of these private security contractors (PSCs) have grown and with them incidents of serious criminal violations, the U.S. government has failed to establish any effective system for holding PSCs fielded by the U.S. government accountable for their actions. This situation has been most problematic in Iraq. But these issues are not unique to Iraq or Afghanistan, and they will continue after those particular operations are long over.
Human Rights First has developed and advocated for changes in policy to address this accountability gap ... more»
New Report: Private Security Contractors at War
This report examines patterns of private security contractor operations and the civilian casualties linked to them; the inadequate response of the U.S. government, principally the Department of Justice, to crimes committed by contractors; and the current legal framework governing private security contractors deployed abroad by the United States.
Human Rights First concludes that the vigorous enforcement of laws already in force today would provide a solid foundation for prosecuting violent crime involving contractors, but that the federal government needs to provide the necessary resources and properly prioritize law enforcement involving the contractor community in order to end the impunity of private security contractors.
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Listen to Press Conference - Streaming Audio Full Report (PDF-4MB) |
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Senior Project Consultant Scott Horton’s Testimonies before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the House Judiciary Committee
- On December 19, 2007, Scott Horton testified in a hearing entitled “Enforcement of Federal Criminal Law to Protect Americans Working for U.S. Contractors in Iraq”. This text further contextualizes the debate on accountability mechanisms for private contractors in Iraq, in light of recent events.
Read the testimony
- On June 19, 2007, Scott Horton testified in a hearing entitled "War Profiteering and Other Contractors Crimes Committed Overseas”, supporting amendments to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. This text contextualizes and summarizes the legislative debate on certain accountability mechanisms for private contractors.
Read the testimony