Presidential Documents

4893 

Federal Register 

Vol. 74, No. 16 

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 

Title 3— 

The President 

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. 

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4894 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

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. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / Presidential Documents 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-ViceChair; 

(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. 

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4896 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

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. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

January 22, 2009. 

[FR Doc. E9–1885 

Filed 1–26–09; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3195–W9–P 


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