Presidential Documents

40707 

Federal Register 

Vol. 72, No. 141 

Tuesday, July 24, 2007 

Title 3— 

The President 

Executive Order 13440 of July 20, 2007 

Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions Common Article 3 

as Applied to a Program of Detention and Interrogation Operated by the Central Intelligence Agency 

By the authority vested in me as President and Commander in Chief of 

the Armed Forces by the Constitution and the laws of the United States 

of America, including the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public 

Law 107–40), the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–366), 

and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as 

follows: 

Section 1. General Determinations. (a) The United States is engaged in 

an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces. Members 

of al Qaeda were responsible for the attacks on the United States of September 

11, 2001, and for many other terrorist attacks, including against the United 

States, its personnel, and its allies throughout the world. These forces continue to fight the United States and its allies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and 

elsewhere, and they continue to plan additional acts of terror throughout 

the world. On February 7, 2002, I determined for the United States that 

members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy 

combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva 

Convention provides to prisoners of war. I hereby reaffirm that determination. 

(b) The Military Commissions Act defines certain prohibitions of Common 

Article 3 for United States law, and it reaffirms and reinforces the authority 

of the President to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva 

Conventions. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order: 

(a) ‘‘Common Article 3’’ means Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. 

(b) ‘‘Geneva Conventions’’ means: 

(i) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded 

and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, done at Geneva 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, done at Geneva 

August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3217); 

(iii) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, done 

at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316); and 

(iv) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time 

of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3516). 

(c) ‘‘Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment’’ means the 

cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the 

Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United 

States. 

Sec. 3. Compliance of a Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program with Common Article 3. (a) Pursuant to the authority of the 

President under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including 

the Military Commissions Act of 2006, this order interprets the meaning 

and application of the text of Common Article 3 with respect to certain 

detentions and interrogations, and shall be treated as authoritative for all 


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purposes as a matter of United States law, including satisfaction of the 

international obligations of the United States. I hereby determine that Common Article 3 shall apply to a program of detention and interrogation 

operated by the Central Intelligence Agency as set forth in this section. 

The requirements set forth in this section shall be applied with respect 

to detainees in such program without adverse distinction as to their race, 

color, religion or faith, sex, birth, or wealth. 

(b) I hereby determine that a program of detention and interrogation approved 

by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency fully complies with the 

obligations of the United States under Common Article 3, provided that: 

(i) the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices of the program 

do not include: 

(A) torture, as defined in section 2340 of title 18, United States Code; 

(B) any of the acts prohibited by section 2441(d) of title 18, United 

States Code, including murder, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, 

mutilation or maiming, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, 

rape, sexual assault or abuse, taking of hostages, or performing of biological experiments; 

(C) other acts of violence serious enough to be considered comparable 

to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel or inhuman treatment, as defined in section 2441(d) of title 18, United States Code; 

(D) any other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment prohibited by the Military Commissions Act (subsection 6(c) 

of Public Law 109–366) and the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (section 1003 of Public Law 109–148 and section 1403 of Public Law 

109–163); 

(E) willful and outrageous acts of personal abuse done for the purpose 

of humiliating or degrading the individual in a manner so serious that 

any reasonable person, considering the circumstances, would deem 

the acts to be beyond the bounds of human decency, such as sexual 

or sexually indecent acts undertaken for the purpose of humiliation, 

forcing the individual to perform sexual acts or to pose sexually, 

threatening the individual with sexual mutilation, or using the individual as a human shield; or 

(F) acts intended to denigrate the religion, religious practices, or religious objects of the individual; 

(ii) the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices are to be 

used with an alien detainee who is determined by the Director of the 

Central Intelligence Agency: 

(A) to be a member or part of or supporting al Qaeda, the Taliban, 

or associated organizations; and 

(B) likely to be in possession of information that: 

(1) could assist in detecting, mitigating, or preventing terrorist attacks, such as attacks within the United States or against its Armed 

Forces or other personnel, citizens, or facilities, or against allies or 

other countries cooperating in the war on terror with the United 

States, or their armed forces or other personnel, citizens, or facilities; or 

(2) could assist in locating the senior leadership of al Qaeda, the 

Taliban, or associated forces; 

(iii) the interrogation practices are determined by the Director of the 

Central Intelligence Agency, based upon professional advice, to be safe 

for use with each detainee with whom they are used; and 

(iv) detainees in the program receive the basic necessities of life, including 

adequate food and water, shelter from the elements, necessary clothing, 

protection from extremes of heat and cold, and essential medical care. 

(c) The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall issue written policies 

to govern the program, including guidelines for Central Intelligence Agency 

personnel that implement paragraphs (i)(C), (E), and (F) of subsection 3(b) 

of this order, and including requirements to ensure: 


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(i) safe and professional operation of the program; 

(ii) the development of an approved plan of interrogation tailored for 

each detainee in the program to be interrogated, consistent with subsection 

3(b)(iv) of this order; 

(iii) appropriate training for interrogators and all personnel operating the 

program; 

(iv) effective monitoring of the program, including with respect to medical 

matters, to ensure the safety of those in the program; and 

(v) compliance with applicable law and this order. 

Sec. 4. Assignment of Function. With respect to the program addressed 

in this order, the function of the President under section 6(c)(3) of the 

Military Commissions Act of 2006 is assigned to the Director of National 

Intelligence. 

Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, 

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. 

(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to prevent or limit reliance 

upon this order in a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, or otherwise, by the Central Intelligence Agency or by any individual acting on 

behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency in connection with the program 

addressed in this order. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

July 20, 2007. 

[FR Doc. 07–3656 

Filed 7–23–07; 10:16 am] 

Billing code 3195–01–P 


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