Gaddafi is gone and NATO's command center in Naples is closed, but on the legacy of the intervention in Libya, the debate has just begun. Allegations of civilians harmed are haunting NATO as nations opposed to the intervention -- namely Russia, China and South Africa -- point fingers about civilian casualties and sling phrases like "human right abuses" and "impunity" across the United Nations chamber like more precision guided munitions. The U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice took to Twitter, calling Russia's actions "a cheap stunt." Her Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin, publicly wondered if Rice's Stanford education shouldn't make her more eloquent. In this dispute, the Libyan civilians who died -- and the ones who lived -- are an afterthought to their political utility. And for Russia, China and South Africa they serve as needed ammunition against a bigger target: the very decision to go into Libya.
Various human rights groups -- including Human Rights Watch and my own -- have presented evidence of civilian harm to NATO and called on the Alliance to conduct an investigation. The logic goes that NATO has an obligation to carry through on its UN mandate to protect Libyan civilians, beyond the official end of combat operations, by addressing unintended civilian losses. The best way to do that is by conducting investigations. Unfortunately, NATO has reacted defensively -- at one point hyperbolically claiming that there were no "confirmed" civilian casualties whatsoever. This may be true only because NATO refuses to investigate, and thus, confirm them. In a military operation of this magnitude, civilian harm was a likelihood the UN must have grappled with when authorizing the mandate. It's also a reality NATO is familiar with. NATO forces in Afghanistan conduct reviews and investigations of civilian casualties increasingly frequently, thanks to pressure to learn from mistakes. Surely those lessons learned could have been shared between theaters; the reason they weren't remains a mystery. Regardless, calls for NATO to investigate civilian harm don't mean the same thing as accusing NATO of overstepping its mandate or violating international law, as Russia, China and South Africa are claiming. Evidence suggests a relatively small number of casualties when compared to similar air operations in the past, and thus far there is no documented evidence of legal violations committed by NATO. Any nation has the right to ask the UN to review a mandated operation, but to do so here seems redundant since the UN Human Rights Committee already established a Commission of Inquiry to impartially analyze the conduct of all sides, not just NATO. Making one-sided allegations before that investigation is complete is wrong and risks crippling what should be a real process of accountability for any civilian harm caused by any party. Civilians don't deserve to be used as political cover to push a non-interventionist agenda. During and after the NATO intervention, we talked to Libyan survivors across the country, some who were able to escape to safer areas, some who lost family members to Gaddafi and others who were harmed by rebel and NATO operations. The overwhelming majority praised the Alliance for ridding their country of Gaddafi, regardless of the losses they suffered. But they also wanted recognition for what they'd been through. That's what they deserve. In denying any civilian harm and refusing to investigate credible evidence to the contrary, NATO risks tarnishing a historic mandate, one that saved a lot of lives. And they've given their political enemies exactly the fodder they were looking for. For its part, NATO still has a chance to set all this right. The Alliance can start by examining the evidence of civilian harm. It should immediately send an expert team to Libya to match targeting protocols with outcomes, assess damaged property and remaining munitions, interview civilian survivors and, when appropriate, make amends to Libyans with provable losses. A lessons-learned review must include data from Libyan soil -- whether the death toll was one or one hundred. Looking to the future, which is in NATO's best interest to do, an office for civilian harm mitigation should be created in Brussels, to ensure military and civilian leaders pay attention to and plan for civilian casualties before the first plane ever leaves the base. Civilian harm should never be ignored, but neither should it be politicized in a way that diverts attention from real recognition for civilian survivors. They deserve fewer accusations, less lip service to accountability, and more humble, honest efforts to piece together the ways a military intervention has, good or bad, affected the people it was meant to help.