Van Hollen Joins Ossoff, Colleagues in Urging DoD to Protect Civilians During Military Operations

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen joined Senators Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). in urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to protect civilians during military operations.

Sen. Ossoff led the group of Senators urging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to protect the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence at DoD to minimize civilian deaths during combat.

According to a report by The Washington Post, the center’s senior leadership was instructed that the Pentagon was moving forward with plans to halt all civilian harm mitigation work, including winding down the center and firing or reassigning nearly 170 personnel who advise military leaders on limiting noncombatant casualties.

“Minimizing civilian casualties in warfare is a moral duty and a strategic imperative,” the Senators wrote to Defense Secretary Hegseth. “We remind you that the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (“the Center”) was established by Congress and the law requires you to operate it.”

“Reducing civilian casualties in warfare is an obvious moral imperative necessary for its own sake. But it is also a strategic imperative,” they continued. “The credibility of U.S. foreign policy flows not just from our raw military power but also from our reputation as a nation that values innocent life and protects noncombatants.”

Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s inquiry with DoD.

Dear Secretary Hegseth,

We write to urge that you cease any effort to close the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence at the Department of Defense. Minimizing civilian casualties in warfare is a moral duty and a strategic imperative.

We remind you that the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (“the Center”) was established by Congress, fully funded by Congress in each of the last two fiscal years, and the law requires you to operate it. Congress established the Center, with overwhelming bipartisan support, in 2022. Its purpose, per 10 U.S. Code § 184, is to “institutionalize and advance knowledge, practices, and tools for preventing, mitigating, and responding to civilian harm” that result “from military operations involving the United States Armed Forces.” It was established in response to an inquiry led by previous Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis into civilian casualties that resulted from U.S. airstrikes in Iraq.

Nevertheless, public reporting indicates that the Trump Administration is preparing to “abolish” the Center. Regardless of your personal views regarding the importance of reducing civilian casualties, neither you nor the President have such authority.

Reducing civilian casualties in warfare is an obvious moral imperative necessary for its own sake. But it is also a strategic imperative. The credibility of U.S. foreign policy flows not just from our raw military power but also from our reputation as a nation that values innocent life and protects noncombatants. When American forces deploy, the world should understand that they are not just the most lethal and capable force in human history, but also that their operations are conducted consistent with the highest moral and humanitarian standards. Furthermore, U.S. forces’ freedom of maneuver and the sustainability of deployments in complex environments often depends upon the trust and good faith of the local civilian population. We urge you to support the work of the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, and not to undo years of work by your predecessors to ensure the United States military remains the most capable, responsible, and respected in the world.

Sincerely,