Sec. 7. Department of Defense Center of Excellence for the Protection of Civilians
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Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: There is within the Office of the Secretary of Defense a Center of Excellence for the Protection of Civilians (in this section referred to as the Center ). The Center shall serve as the primary organization in the Department of Defense responsible for— advising the Secretary of Defense and senior United States Government officials on efforts to prevent, mitigate, and respond to harm to civilians during United States military operations; ensuring the full implementation of the Department of Defense Instruction on Responding to Civilian Harm in Military Operations and subsequent guidance pertaining to civilian harm prevention, mitigation, and response; conducting regular audits of civilian harm prevention, mitigation, and response policies and practices across the Department of Defense, including at the combatant commands, including alignment of Department policies, practices, and other guidance with the law of armed conflict and other applicable international law; convening on a quarterly basis an interagency task force to assess progress on civilian harm prevention, mitigation, and response, which shall include the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States Agency for International Development, and such other agencies as the President considers appropriate; tracking data relating to harm to civilians, analyzing such data over time for trends, and ensuring the public release of such data on a regular basis; conducting post-strike assessments and investigations of suspected harm to civilians, including wherever possible interviews with victims and survivors, and in consultation with civil society organizations and relevant United States Government agencies, and publicly releasing all such assessments and investigations with minimal redactions only for legitimately classified information; based on post-strike assessments, investigations, and trend analysis, recommending individual amends and remedies for harm to civilians, recommending accountability measures in cases of wrongdoing, and suggesting changes to policy and practice based on findings; issuing amends for harm to civilians caused by the use of force by the United States Armed Forces, a coalition that includes the United States, a military organization supporting the United States, or a military organization supporting the United States or such coalition, including formal apologies, ex gratia payments, and other assistance, in consultation with civilian victims, survivors, and their representatives; engaging with civil society no less than biannually to ensure the most accurate and comprehensive information about harm to civilians is known to the United States Government and that United States Government efforts to improve civilian harm policies and practice are informed by the experiences and needs of civilians affected by military operations of the United States and partner countries; conducting assessments and investigations and reporting on instances of civilian harm that have occurred in the past; and ensuring that lessons learned from civilian harm assessments, investigations, and other sources are reflected in updated doctrine, policies, procedures, and practices, and monitoring and assessing implementation of lessons learned.
There is a Director of the Center, who shall be the head of the Center, and who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense. The Director of the Center shall be a civilian with significant experience and expertise relating to the protection of civilians. The Director of the Center shall— report directly to the Secretary of Defense; and carry out the functions of the Center under subsection (b). The Center shall have sufficient staff to carry out the functions of the Center under subsection (b), including— a general officer (as defined in section 101(b) of this title) with significant experience and expertise on the protection of civilians; and analysts and investigators detailed from the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the Central Intelligence Agency, and civil society organizations.
The Center shall be provided with access, in accordance with applicable provisions of law, to all intelligence and other reporting possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to harm to civilians resulting from United States military operations. At the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Center shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an annual report on the activities of the Center.
The Director shall also publish an unclassified form of the report on an internet website of the Department available to the public concurrently with its submission to Congress. Each report required by paragraph
(1)shall include a discussion of— the activities of the Center and its progress toward implementing the functions of the Center under subsection (b); the assessment of the Director of United States Government policies and practices for civilian harm prevention, mitigation, and response; the recommendations of the Director for improved civilian harm prevention, mitigation, and response policies and practices; and the recommendations of the Director for any legislative or other actions necessary to improve the ability of the Center to carry out its functions. . Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Center shall, at the direction of the Secretary of Defense and in consultation with civilian victims and survivors, develop further guidance on the provision of amends or condolences for harm to civilians, including monetary and non-monetary mechanisms. For each of fiscal years 2023 through 2025, there is authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Defense $25,000,000 for the Director to carry out the functions specified in subsections
(a)through (g). . The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 147 the following new item: 148. Center of Excellence for the Protection of Civilians. .