Sec. 1087. Assessment of standards, processes, procedures, and policy relating to civilian casualties
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The Secretary of Defense shall enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center for the conduct of an independent assessment of the sufficiency of Department of Defense standards, processes, procedures, and policy relating to civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations. In conducting the assessment under this section, the federally funded research and development center shall consider the following matters: Department of Defense policy relating to civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations.
Standards, processes, and procedures for internal assessments and investigations of civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations. Standards, processes, and procedures for identifying, assessing, investigating, and responding to reports of civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations from the public and non-governmental entities and sources, including the consideration of relevant information from all available sources. Combatant command organizational constructs for assessing and investigating civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations.
Mechanisms for public and non-governmental entities to report civilian casualties that have resulted from United States military operations to the Department of Defense. Enterprise-wide mechanisms for accurately recording kinetic strikes, including raids, strikes, and other missions, and civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations. An analysis of reasons for any disparity between third party public estimates and official United States Government estimates of civilian casualties resulting from United States or joint operations, including with respect to each specific mission, strike, engagement, raid, or incident.
A comparison of a representative sample of pre-strike collateral damage estimates and confirmed civilian casualty incidents for the purposes of developing possible explanations for any gaps between the two and assessing how to reduce such gaps. Standards, processes, procedures, and policy for reducing the likelihood of civilian casualties from United States military operations. The institutionalization of lessons learned and best practices for reducing the likelihood of civilian casualties and relating to civilian casualties resulting from United States military operations, including an analysis of the principal and secondary causes of civilian casualties in a suitably representative sample of air operations that includes both planned and dynamic strikes.
Any other matters the Secretary of Defense determines appropriate. The results of the assessment under this section shall— present considerations for improving standards, processes, procedures, policy, and organizational constructs relating to civilian casualties resulting from military operations; provide for the presentation of Department of Defense views on the assessment; and provide for the presentation of the views of non-governmental organizations on the assessment. Not later than March 1, 2020, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report containing the results of the assessment conducted under this section.
The report under paragraph
(1)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex. The Secretary shall make the report under paragraph
(1)publicly available.