[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 4893-4896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1885]
[[Page 4891]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Part V
The President
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Order 13491--Ensuring Lawful Interrogations
Executive Order 13492--Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained
at the Guant[aacute]namo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention
Facilities
Executive Order 13493--Review of Detention Policy Options
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 27, 2009 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 4893]]
Executive Order 13491 of January 22, 2009
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.
[[Page 4894]]
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.
[[Page 4895]]
(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.
[[Page 4896]]
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.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 22, 2009.
[FR Doc. E9-1885
Filed 1-26-09; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P
(s)>
