Ensuring Lawful Interrogations, 4893-4896 [E9-1885]

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• Executive Office of the President
• Presidential Documents

[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]]

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Part V





The President





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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