No Time to Lose - Oxfam

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suspected or alleged violations’, committed by anyone, must be ‘reported
promptly, investigated thoroughly, and where appropriate,
remedied by corrective action.’ 99 Commanders who obtain information
about actual or suspected violations must report through the
chain of command; and higher authorities receiving such reports must
request a formal investigation and also report up through the chain of
command. 100 Department of Defense components (military departments,
combatant commands, etc) are required to implement ‘effective
programs’ (including law of war training and dissemination) to
prevent violations of the law of war; to ensure that legal advisors are
available at all levels of command; and to institute and implement
programs to comply with US reporting requirements. 101 In the context
of Afghanistan, what this means in essence is that senior US military
commanders must take action to ensure that ANSF personnel who
violate international humanitarian law are either disciplined through
administrative processes or investigated and prosecuted through an
effective, functioning military justice system. The military manuals of
most other supporting states, while lacking the operational detail
found in US law and policy particularly vis-à-vis the armed forces of
foreign states, for the most part contain a general obligation on the
part of military commanders to report and in some cases to take action
to prevent violations by persons within their control. 102