Press Release
Published on August 9, 2007
NEW YORK — Next week at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting, the ABA’s House of Delegates will consider a resolution calling on Congress to overturn the July 20 Executive Order authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to employ its own set of “enhanced” interrogation practices. The meeting takes places this year in San Francisco.
The resolution, which will likely be debated and voted on next Monday, August 13, or Tuesday, August 14, concludes that the Executive Order is “inconsistent with U.S. obligations under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.” It urges Congress to ensure that those held by the CIA or other U.S. agencies are treated in accordance with Common Article 3 and in a manner “fully consistent with the standards of treatment and interrogation techniques” contained in the September 2006 U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogations.
The resolution has been endorsed by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security, which has been supportive of many of the Administration’s post-9/11 policies and actions and traditionally has favored broad executive authority on matters of national security.
The full text of the resolution is available at http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/wp-content/uploads/pdf/07809-usls-cia-recs.pdf . The ABA’s accompanying report, which spells out the thinking behind this resolution in greater detail, is available at http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/wp-content/uploads/pdf/07809-usls-cia-report.pdf.
Journalists seeking additional information on this resolution or the ABA debate can contact Michael Posner, President of Human Rights First, in San Francisco beginning on Friday: cell phone 917-496-8841. Alternatively, contact Krista Minteer of Human Rights First at 212-845-5207.
