Wednesday, January 22, 2009
EXECUTIVE ORDER -- ENSURING LAWFUL INTERROGATIONS
By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, in order to
improve the effectiveness of human intelligence
gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane
treatment of individuals in United States custody and of
United States personnel who are detained in armed
conflicts, to ensure compliance with the treaty
obligations of the United States, including the Geneva
Conventions, and to take care that the laws of the United
States are faithfully executed, I hereby order as
follows:
Section 1. Revocation. Executive Order 13440 of July
20, 2007, is revoked. All executive directives, orders,
and regulations inconsistent with this order, including
but not limited to those issued to or by the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) from September 11, 2001, to
January 20, 2009, concerning detention or the
interrogation of detained individuals, are revoked to the
extent of their inconsistency with this order. Heads of
departments and agencies shall take all necessary steps
to ensure that all directives, orders, and regulations of
their respective departments or agencies are consistent
with this order. Upon request, the Attorney General shall
provide guidance about which directives, orders, and
regulations are inconsistent with this order.
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) "Army Field Manual 2 22.3" means FM 2-22.3, Human
Intelligence Collector Operations, issued by the
Department of the Army on September 6, 2006.
(b) "Army Field Manual 34-52" means FM 34-52,
Intelligence Interrogation, issued by the Department of
the Army on May 8, 1987.
(c) "Common Article 3" means Article 3 of each of the
Geneva Conventions.
(d) "Convention Against Torture" means the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, December 10, 1984, 1465 U.N.T.S.
85, S. Treaty Doc. No. 100 20 (1988).
(e) "Geneva Conventions" means:
(i) the Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the
Field, August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3114);
(ii) the Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of
Armed Forces at Sea, August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3217);
(iii) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War, August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316); and
(iv) the Convention Relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War, August 12, 1949 (6 UST
3516).
(f) "Treated humanely," "violence to life and person,"
"murder of all kinds," "mutilation," "cruel treatment,"
"torture," "outrages upon personal dignity," and
"humiliating and degrading treatment" refer to, and have
the same meaning as, those same terms in Common Article
3.
(g) The terms "detention facilities" and "detention
facility" in section 4(a) of this order do not refer to
facilities used only to hold people on a short-term,
transitory basis.
Sec. 3. Standards and Practices for Interrogation of
Individuals in the Custody or Control of the United
States in Armed Conflicts.
(a) Common Article 3 Standards as a Minimum Baseline.
Consistent with the requirements of the Federal torture
statute, 18 U.S.C. 2340 2340A, section 1003 of the
Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. 2000dd, the
Convention Against Torture, Common Article 3, and other
laws regulating the treatment and interrogation of
individuals detained in any armed conflict, such persons
shall in all circumstances be treated humanely and shall
not be subjected to violence to life and person
(including murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel
treatment, and torture), nor to outrages upon personal
dignity (including humiliating and degrading treatment),
whenever such individuals are in the custody or under the
effective control of an officer, employee, or other agent
of the United States Government or detained within a
facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department
or agency of the United States.
(b) Interrogation Techniques and Interrogation-Related
Treatment. Effective immediately, an individual in the
custody or under the effective control of an officer,
employee, or other agent of the United States Government,
or detained within a facility owned, operated, or
controlled by a department or agency of the United
States, in any armed conflict, shall not be subjected to
any interrogation technique or approach, or any treatment
related to interrogation, that is not authorized by and
listed in Army Field Manual 2 22.3 (Manual).
Interrogation techniques, approaches, and treatments
described in the Manual shall be implemented strictly in
accord with the principles, processes, conditions, and
limitations the Manual prescribes. Where processes
required by the Manual, such as a requirement of approval
by specified Department of Defense officials, are
inapposite to a department or an agency other than the
Department of Defense, such a department or agency shall
use processes that are substantially equivalent to the
processes the Manual prescribes for the Department of
Defense. Nothing in this section shall preclude the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, or other Federal law
enforcement agencies, from continuing to use authorized,
non-coercive techniques of interrogation that are
designed to elicit voluntary statements and do not
involve the use of force, threats, or promises.
(c) Interpretations of Common Article 3 and the Army
Field Manual. From this day forward, unless the Attorney
General with appropriate consultation provides further
guidance, officers, employees, and other agents of the
United States Government may, in conducting
interrogations, act in reliance upon Army Field Manual 2
22.3, but may not, in conducting interrogations, rely
upon any interpretation of the law governing
interrogation -- including interpretations of Federal
criminal laws, the Convention Against Torture, Common
Article 3, Army Field Manual 2 22.3, and its predecessor
document, Army Field Manual 34 52 issued by the
Department of Justice between September 11, 2001, and
January 20, 2009.
Sec. 4. Prohibition of Certain Detention Facilities,
and Red Cross Access to Detained Individuals.
(a) CIA Detention. The CIA shall close as
expeditiously as possible any detention facilities that
it currently operates and shall not operate any such
detention facility in the future.
(b) International Committee of the Red Cross Access to
Detained Individuals. All departments and agencies of the
Federal Government shall provide the International
Committee of the Red Cross with notification of, and
timely access to, any individual detained in any armed
conflict in the custody or under the effective control of
an officer, employee, or other agent of the United States
Government or detained within a facility owned, operated,
or controlled by a department or agency of the United
States Government, consistent with Department of Defense
regulations and policies.
Sec. 5. Special Interagency Task Force on
Interrogation and Transfer Policies.
(a) Establishment of Special Interagency Task Force.
There shall be established a Special Task Force on
Interrogation and Transfer Policies (Special Task Force)
to review interrogation and transfer policies.
(b) Membership. The Special Task Force shall consist
of the following members, or their designees:
(i) the Attorney General, who shall serve as
Chair;
(ii) the Director of National Intelligence, who shall
serve as Co-Vice-Chair;
(iii) the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve as
Co-Vice-Chair;
(iv) the Secretary of State;
(v) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(vi) the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency;
(vii) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
and
(viii) other officers or full-time or permanent part
time employees of the United States, as determined by the
Chair, with the concurrence of the head of the department
or agency concerned.
(c) Staff. The Chair may designate officers and
employees within the Department of Justice to serve as
staff to support the Special Task Force. At the request
of the Chair, officers and employees from other
departments or agencies may serve on the Special Task
Force with the concurrence of the head of the department
or agency that employ such individuals. Such staff must
be officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees
of the United States. The Chair shall designate an
officer or employee of the Department of Justice to serve
as the Executive Secretary of the Special Task Force.
(d) Operation. The Chair shall convene meetings of the
Special Task Force, determine its agenda, and direct its
work. The Chair may establish and direct subgroups of the
Special Task Force, consisting exclusively of members of
the Special Task Force, to deal with particular
subjects.
(e) Mission. The mission of the Special Task Force
shall be:
(i) to study and evaluate whether the interrogation
practices and techniques in Army Field Manual 2 22.3,
when employed by departments or agencies outside the
military, provide an appropriate means of acquiring the
intelligence necessary to protect the Nation, and, if
warranted, to recommend any additional or different
guidance for other departments or agencies; and
(ii) to study and evaluate the practices of
transferring individuals to other nations in order to
ensure that such practices comply with the domestic laws,
international obligations, and policies of the United
States and do not result in the transfer of individuals
to other nations to face torture or otherwise for the
purpose, or with the effect, of undermining or
circumventing the commitments or obligations of the
United States to ensure the humane treatment of
individuals in its custody or control.
(f) Administration. The Special Task Force shall be
established for administrative purposes within the
Department of Justice and the Department of Justice
shall, to
the extent permitted by law and subject to the
availability of appropriations, provide administrative
support and funding for the Special Task Force.
(g) Recommendations. The Special Task Force shall
provide a report to the President, through the Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs and the
Counsel to the President, on the matters set forth in
subsection (d) within 180 days of the date of this order,
unless the Chair determines that an extension is
necessary.
(h) Termination. The Chair shall terminate the Special
Task Force upon the completion of its duties.
Sec. 6. Construction with Other Laws. Nothing in this
order shall be construed to affect the obligations of
officers, employees, and other agents of the United
States Government to comply with all pertinent laws and
treaties of the United States governing detention and
interrogation, including but not limited to: the Fifth
and Eighth Amendments to the United States Constitution;
the Federal torture statute, 18 U.S.C. 2340 2340A; the
War Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. 2441; the Federal assault
statute, 18 U.S.C. 113; the Federal maiming statute, 18
U.S.C. 114; the Federal "stalking" statute, 18 U.S.C.
2261A; articles 93, 124, 128, and 134 of the Uniform Code
of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. 893, 924, 928, and 934;
section 1003 of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, 42
U.S.C. 2000dd; section 6(c) of the Military Commissions
Act of 2006, Public Law 109 366; the Geneva Conventions;
and the Convention Against Torture. Nothing in this order
shall be construed to diminish any rights that any
individual may have under these or other laws and
treaties. This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity against the United
States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, its
officers or employees, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 22, 2009
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EnsuringLawfulInterrogations/
