Cat Report

Cat Report in 2013

United States views on international law [1] in relation to CAT Report: The United States submitted its third, fourth, and fifth periodic reports to the United Nations Committee Against Torture on August 12, 2013. Several of the questions addressed in the report relate to detainees. Relevant portions are excerpted below. The full text of the report is available at (Secretary of State website) state.gov/j/drl/rls/213055.htm.

Some Aspects of Cat Report

4. In light of the Committee's previous concluding observations (para. 16) and the replies provided in the State party's comments under the follow-up procedure (CAT/C/USA/CO/2/Add.1, para. 3), please provide:

(a) Information on steps taken by the State party to ensure that it registers all persons it detains in any territory under its jurisdiction, including in all areas under its de facto effective control. …

Response to issues raised in Question 4(a).

15. Noting paragraph 6 of this Report, although there is no unified national policy governing the registry of all persons detained by the United States, relevant individual federal, state, and local authorities, including military authorities,maintain appropriate records on persons detained by them. Although the United States notes that the Convention has no provision requiring the registration of detainees, such records would generally include the information mentioned in the Committee's recommendation.

Developments

16. DoD keeps detailed information regarding every individual it detains, to serve as both an aid in ensuring appropriate care and custody and as an appropriate oversight mechanism of the conditions of detention. It also assigns internment serial numbers to all detainees interned by the United States in connection with armed conflict as soon as practicable and in all cases within 14 days of capture, and grants the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to such detainees, consistent with DoD regulations and policies. Pursuant to DoD Directive 2310.01E (The DoD Detainee Program), the ICRC is made aware of and has access to all U.S. law of war detention facilities and all persons detained by the United States in situations of armed conflict. This is consistent with President Obama's Executive Order (E.O.) 13491 on Ensuring Lawful Interrogations, issued on January 22, 2009, requiring that all agencies of the U.S. government provide the ICRC with such notification of and 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 U.S. government or detained within a facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department or agency of the U.S. government, consistent with DoD regulations and policies.

Details

17. Within the United States, the U.S. and state constitutions and other laws provide comprehensive safeguards to ensure that persons under detention are protected and provided due process. Under such laws, all persons detained are booked when they are taken into custody. Generally, booking information includes the name, physical description, charges, bond information, and emergency contact information for the detainee. Such bookings are public information and are often published in local newspapers. Pre-trial detention is governed by constitutional and statutory standards, and approved and supervised by independent judicial officers who are available to address allegations of mistreatment.

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5. Please provide information on:

(a) Whether the State party has adopted a policy that ensures that no one is detained in any secret detention facility …

(b) The legal safeguards provided to the detainees and the manner in which they are treated.

(c) Steps taken to address the reports of detainees held incommunicado and without the protection of domestic or international law …

Response to issues raised in Question 5(a).

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23. In September 2006 former President Bush acknowledged that in addition to individuals then held at the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (Guantanamo), “a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war [were] held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.” He then announced that 14 individuals were being transferred from Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) custody to DoD custody at Guantanamo. The CIA's overseas detention and interrogation program was described in detail in a 2004 CIA Inspector General Special Review, which has been publicly released in redacted form, and was further discussed in DOJ Office of Legal Counsel memoranda from 2002 and 2005 that were publicly released in 2009.

Cat Report in 2013 (Continuation)

United States views on international law [1] in relation to Cat Report: 24. On his second full day in office, January 22, 2009, President Obama issued three executive orders concerning lawful interrogations, the military detention facility at Guantanamo, and detention policy options. E.O. 13491, Ensuring Lawful Interrogations, instructed the CIA to close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities it operated. As noted in the answer to Question 4, it requires that all agencies of the U.S. government provide the ICRC with timely access to any individual detained by the United States in any armed conflict, consistent with DoD regulations and policies.

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25. Consistent with E.O. 13491, the CIA does not operate any detention facilities. The United States does not have and has never had a detention facility on Diego Garcia.

Development

26. The United States does not operate any secret detention facilities. In some contexts, the United States operates battlefield transit and screening facilities, the locations of which are often classified for reasons of military necessity. All such facilities are operated consistent with applicable U.S. law and policy and international law, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, and DoD Directive 2310.01E. The ICRC and relevant host governments are informed about these facilities, and the ICRC has access to all individuals interned by the United States in the context of armed conflict, consistent with DoD policy.

Details

Response to issues raised in Question 5(b).

27. Pursuant to E.O. 13491, all U.S. detention facilities in the context of armed conflict are operated consistent with obligations under U.S. domestic and international law and policy. E.O. 13491 directs that individuals detained in any armed conflict shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, consistent with U.S. domestic law, treaty obligations and U.S. policy, 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 U.S. government or detained within a facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department or agency of the United States; and that such individuals shall not be subjected to any interrogation technique or approach, or any treatment related to interrogation, that is not authorized by and listed in the Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations, FM 2-22.3 (Army Field Manual), without prejudice to authorized non-coercive techniques of federal law enforcement agencies.

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28. In March 2011 the United States confirmed its support for Additional Protocol II and for Article 75 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. A March 7, 2011White House press release explained the significance of this announcement:

• Because of the vital importance of the rule of law to the effectiveness and legitimacy of our national security policy, the Administration is announcing our support for two important components of the international legal framework that covers armed conflicts: Additional Protocol II and Article 75 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Additional Protocol II, which contains detailed humane treatment standards and fair trial guarantees that apply in the context of non-international armed conflicts, was originally submitted to the Senate for approval by President Reagan in 1987. The Administration urges the Senate to act as soon as practicable on this Protocol, to which 165 States are party. An extensive interagency review concluded that U.S. military practice is already consistent with the Protocol's provisions. Joining the treaty would not only assist us in continuing to exercise leadership in the international community in developing the law of armed conflict, but would also allow us to reaffirm our commitment to humane treatment in, and compliance with legal standards for, the conduct of armed conflict.

• Article 75 of Additional Protocol I, which sets forth fundamental guarantees for persons in the hands of opposing forces in an international armed conflict, is similarly important to the international legal framework. Although the Administration continues to have significant concerns with Additional Protocol I, Article 75 is a provision of the treaty that is consistent with our current policies and practice and is one that the United States has historically supported.

• Our adherence to these principles is also an important safeguard against the mistreatment of captured U.S. military personnel. The U.S. Government will therefore choose out of a sense of legal obligation to treat the principles set forth in Article 75 as applicable to any individual it detains in an international armed conflict, and expects all other nations to adhere to these principles as well.

Resources

Notes

1. Cat Report in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law

Resources

Notes

1. Cat Report in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law