Security Detainees/Enemy Combatants

End Unjust Security Detention and Abuse: 10-Point Strategy

Since the revelation of the disturbing photographs of abuse at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the Secretary of Defense and others have rightly condemned and apologized for the shocking behavior the photos revealed.  But the United States has much work to do to repair the damage done—to America's reputation and to those who have wrongly suffered.  An apology is only the first step.

This plan is intended to move beyond concern and dismay and set a positive way forward. The goal of this plan is to help the United States reclaim its role as a leading defender of fairness and liberty in the world and to make clear that abuses like those we have seen and read about can never again be done in America's name.

Human Rights First calls on Congress and the President to move forward immediately with the following action:

1. Commit to upholding the laws on interrogation and detention. The United States should publicly affirm its commitment to upholding the letter and the spirit of the laws regulating interrogation and detention, including the Constitution of the United States, Acts of Congress, and the international treaties that it has signed and ratified and to which it remains bound. 
   
   
2. Investigate and prosecute all acts of torture and abuse and publicly report on all cases. The United States should investigate and prosecute under applicable U.S. criminal and military laws all those who carried out acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of U.S. and international law, as well as those officials who ordered, approved or tolerated these acts.  The status of all pending investigations should be disclosed, and reported upon regularly to Congress and the general public.
   
   
3. Ban the use of torture. To the extent not already prohibited by law, the United States should ban the use by U.S. officials and agents of all forms of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as defined by U.S. and international law. These violations include but are not limited to sexual abuse, humiliation, use or threat of electric shock, medical or chemical methods or materials, beating, shaking, hooding, "water boarding," extended sleep deprivation, prolonged solitary confinement, and prolonged incommunicado detention (i.e., without visits from family members, consular officials, and/or legal representatives). 
   
   
4. Rescind all orders permitting conduct that amounts to torture and abuse. The United States should rescind immediately any interrogation orders, guidelines or regulations permitting conduct amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as defined by U.S. and international law.
    
5. Compensate victims of abuse and notify their families. The United States should ensure that, in any case where violations of law are found, the victims of abuse and their families are notified of all actions taken to redress the abuse, and are provided adequate reparation including compensation and rehabilitation.
   
   
6. Mandate rigorous training for interrogators and ban civilian contractors from conducting interrogations. The United States should mandate rigorous, appropriate, and effective training for all those it engages in gathering intelligence through interrogation.  U.S.-controlled interrogators should be instructed and examined at regular intervals on their obligations under U.S. law, the Geneva Conventions, and applicable international human rights treaties.  The United States should move immediately to ban the conduct of interrogation under any circumstances by civilian contractors to the U.S. government.
   
   
7. Disclose the location of all U.S. detention facilities worldwide and account for all detainees in custody. The United States should publicly disclose the locations of all U.S.-controlled detention facilities worldwide provide an accounting of the number and nationality of all individuals held, state the legal basis for their detention, and take all necessary steps to inform the immediate families of those detained of the detainee’s location and status.
   
   
8. Inspect all military detention facilities worldwide and report findings to Congress. The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Army, CIA, and other relevant Inspectors General should conduct regular inspections of all military and intelligence-run interrogation facilities worldwide to ensure compliance with U.S. legal obligations.  Inspectors General should document the results of these investigations in regular reports to Congress.
   
   
9. Provide all those in custody visits by the Red Cross and due process. Every person in the custody of U.S. military, military contractors, or intelligence officials should be afforded visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, pursuant to U.S. obligations under international law. The legal framework governing the detention of all persons in U.S. military custody should be clarified. Where required under international law, each person must be afforded an individualized determination by an independent authority of his current status, rights and obligations.
   
   
10. Ban transfer of prisoners to countries that use torture. The United States should immediately ban the transfer of U.S. prisoners or immigrant detainees to countries with a pattern of committing torture or other human rights violations in detention, and should institute rigorous and regular procedures for evaluating the likelihood of torture or other human rights violations before any individual is rendered.