Leahy—Sharpening the Blade

Over the course of the last 20 years, the Leahy Law has become one of the cornerstones of foreign and human rights policy. Yet, despite its largely unchallenged importance, field practitioners and other stakeholders have identified a number of substantive and practical deficiencies that greatly diminish the law’s ability to achieve the desired effect, and worse, may pose a risk to the United States’ interests. In reflecting on these deficiencies, and armed with decades of data and anecdotal evidence, this Article proposes adjustments focused on better aligning the law’s intent and effect. These recommendations range from semantic edits to substantive policy changes which may affect the way that Leahy operates in substantial ways. We should not fear revisiting the original intentions now that we have seen how the law operates. Like all things, the Leahy Law must be continually improved or it risks becoming an empty remnant of its former self. America needs to be a world leader in the area of human rights, but it requires functional tools in order to do so. Congress needs to sharpen the blade and it’s the author’s hope that, by implementing the changes presented in this Article, it can do just that. * Captain Nandor Kiss is a Judge Advocate in the United States Army. He is currently serving as a military prosecutor at Fort Bliss, Texas and previously served as an Operations Officer and Legal Advisor for Essential Function 3 – Rule of Law, part of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Kabul, Afghanistan. Special thanks to Colonel Andrew McKee for helping navigate Department of Defense pre-publication review, and to Major Joey Comley, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Baileys, and my wife, Captain Erin Kiss, for reviewing my drafts and providing their thoughts and advice. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or its components.