U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)

From the Office Of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:

• The memorandum, modeled off of an amendment that Heinrich cosponsored, also requires all countries that receive U.S. security assistance to facilitate U.S.-supported humanitarian aid and creates robust reporting requirements to Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) welcomed a new Biden Administration National Security Memorandum (NSM) aimed at ensuring all U.S. security assistance is used in line with international law, including international humanitarian law.

The NSM – which is modeled closely on an amendment led by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) that Heinrich cosponsored – will for the first time require that, prior to the transfer of U.S. security assistance, recipient countries must provide the U.S. with credible and reliable written assurances that they will comply with international humanitarian law and other applicable international law.

Following the intent of the amendment, the NSM also requires that prior to the transfer of U.S. security assistance, recipient countries must provide the U.S. with credible and reliable written assurances that they will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict U.S. humanitarian assistance and U.S-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in areas of conflict. And, also in line with the Senators’ amendment, the NSM creates robust reporting requirements to Congress on these provisions and additional assessments of compliance with U.S. laws and policies. 

“I applaud President Biden for taking this necessary step to hold all recipients of U.S. weapons accountable to international law,” said Heinrich. “As the Senate works to advance vital support for our allies in Ukraine, Israel, and deliver aid to innocent civilians in Gaza, this policy will ensure the American people have the transparency they deserve in understanding how U.S. aid is being deployed.” 

“U.S. security assistance should always be used in line with our nation’s interests and our values, including upholding international humanitarian law. But up until now, that was based on sentiment not substance. This National Security Memorandum is a huge step forward in securing critical safeguards on the use of such assistance– and delivering more transparency and accountability to the American people. I was proud to work alongside the Biden Administration in developing this policy that will have a critical and lasting impact on U.S. assistance moving forward,” Van Hollen said.

The National Security Memorandum:

• Requires that prior to the transfer of U.S. security assistance, recipient countries must provide the U.S. with credible and reliable written assurances that:
  • they will comply with international humanitarian law and other applicable international law; and 
  • that they will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict U.S. humanitarian assistance and U.S-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in areas of conflict where U.S. weapons are being used.
• Requires that the State Department and Defense Department send a report to Congress within 90 days on the use of U.S. weapons in areas of armed conflict since January 2023 and subsequent reports annually thereafter, including:
  • an assessment of whether weapons have been used in a manner inconsistent with international humanitarian law, and other applicable international law;
  • an assessment and analysis of any credible reports indicating that U.S.-funded weapons have been used in a manner inconsistent with established best practices for preventing civilian harm, including the Defense Department’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan; 
  • a description of any known occurrences of U.S. weapons not being received by the intended recipient or being misused for unintended purposes, and a description of any remedies taken; and 
  • an assessment and analysis of each foreign government’s adherence to assurances they have provided regarding U.S.-supported humanitarian efforts and compliance with the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act (Sec. 620I(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961). 
• Creates an enforcement mechanism to ensure that, if a country violates any of these assurances, there is a process to hold such country accountable, including by potentially suspending any further transfers of defense articles or defense services.  
• Clarifies that these requirements do not apply to air defense systems or other defense articles used for strictly defensive or non-lethal purposes. 

The NSM follows the amendment effort that along with Van Hollen and Heinrich, included U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). 

Background:

In December, Heinrich joined Van Hollen and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), in announcing they were working on an amendment to require that the weapons received by any country under the proposed national security supplemental were used in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.   

In addition to supporting this amendment, Heinrich has penned several letters to the Biden Administration, initiated by concerns on how Israel is conducting military operations in Gaza.  

Last week, Heinrich joined U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and 20 colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to encourage Israeli officials to take five specific steps to significantly increase urgently needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. 

Last month, Heinrich joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and a majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus in announcing plans to file an amendment to the forthcoming national security supplemental package that reiterates longstanding U.S. policy in support of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

Also in January, Heinrich and 10 of his colleagues voted for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) resolution that would have required a report examining any human rights violations that may have occurred in the course of the military campaign being carried out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

In December, Heinrich, along with U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and additional Senate colleagues, sent a letter to President Biden on the economic deterioration in the West Bank and the troubling rise in violent acts perpetrated by extremist Israeli settlers. In the letter, the lawmakers stressed the need for Israel to take steps to address the growing instability in the West Bank, including by ensuring that the Palestinian Security Forces are able to ward off violence against innocent Palestinian civilians and prevent further destabilization, which could open an additional front to the conflict.

Also in December, following reports that Israel is using explosive weapons against civilian targets, causing widespread harm, Heinrich and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to President Biden, calling for accountability for Israel’s use of U.S. weapons to ensure the weapons will not be used to cause preventable civilian harm.

In November, Heinrich joined Senator Van Hollen and 24 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden seeking more information and transparency around the Netanyahu government’s strategy to defeat Hamas and protect civilians in Gaza.

In the letter, the lawmakers stated their support for assistance to Israel that:

• 1) aligns with an Israeli strategy that will effectively defeat Hamas;
• 2) prioritizes the release of hostages;
• 3) advances a viable plan that supports a long-term vision for peace, security and Palestinian self-determination in the form of a two-state solution;
• 4) abides by U.S. and international law, including the protection of civilians; and
• 5) advances efforts to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.