A new government report has confirmed at least some of the concerns of congressional leaders that adequate safeguards are not in place to prevent federally funded anti-poaching groups working in other countries from committing human rights abuses.
The Government Accountability Office, in a report released Tuesday that was requested by the leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee, found what it called “weaknesses” in human rights safeguard measures implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
These safeguard “gaps,” as GAO described them, are “inexcusable,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, who led a bipartisan effort five years ago that requested the investigation.
Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) warned Tuesday that the three agencies better tighten their efforts to prevent human rights abuses among the groups they support with federal dollars.
