I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4728 

To affirm that the United States may not engage in torture or cruel, 

inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2004 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MEEHAN, Ms. WATERS, and 

Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the 

Committees on the Judiciary and International Relations, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To affirm that the United States may not engage in torture 

or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Responsible 

5 Interrogation Standards Enforcement Act of 2004’’ or 

6 ‘‘PRISE Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) After World War II, the United States and 

4 its allies created a new international legal order 

5 based on respect for human rights. One of its funda6 mental tenets was a universal prohibition on torture 

7 and ill treatment. 

8 (2) On June 26, 2003, the International Day in 

9 Support of Victims of Torture, President George W. 

10 Bush stated, ‘‘The United States is committed to 

11 the world-wide elimination of torture and we are 

12 leading this fight by example. I call on all govern13 ments to join with the United States and the com14 munity of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, inves15 tigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture and in 

16 undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual pun17 ishment.’’. 

18 (3) The United States is a party to the Geneva 

19 Conventions, which prohibit torture, cruel treatment, 

20 or outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, 

21 humiliating and degrading treatment, during armed 

22 conflict. 

23 (4) The United States is a party to 2 treaties 

24 that prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrad25 ing treatment or punishment, as follows: 
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1 (A) The International Covenant on Civil 

2 and Political Rights, done at New York on De3 cember 16, 1966. 

4 (B) The Convention against Torture and 

5 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 

6 or Punishment, done at New York on December 

7 10, 1984. 

8 (5) The United States filed reservations to the 

9 treaties described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

10 paragraph (4) stating that the United States con11 siders itself bound to prevent ‘‘cruel, inhuman or de12 grading treatment or punishment’’ to the extent that 

13 phrase means the cruel, unusual, and inhumane 

14 treatment or punishment prohibited by the 5th 

15 amendment, 8th amendment, or 14th amendment to 

16 the Constitution. 

17 (6) Army Regulation 190–8 entitled ‘‘Enemy 

18 Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian In19 ternees and Other Detainees’’ provides that ‘‘Inhu20 mane treatment is a serious and punishable violation 

21 under international law and the Uniform Code of 

22 Military Justice (UCMJ). . . . All prisoners will re23 ceive humane treatment without regard to race, na24 tionality, religion, political opinion, sex, or other cri25 teria. The following acts are prohibited: murder, tor-
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1 ture, corporal punishment, mutilation, the taking of 

2 hostages, sensory deprivation, collective punish3 ments, execution without trial by proper authority, 

4 and all cruel and degrading treatment. . . . All per5 sons will be respected as human beings. They will be 

6 protected against all acts of violence to include rape, 

7 forced prostitution, assault and theft, insults, public 

8 curiosity, bodily injury, and reprisals of any kind. 

9 . . . This list is not exclusive.’’. 

10 (7) The Field Manual on Intelligence Interroga11 tion of the Department of the Army states that 

12 ‘‘acts of violence or intimidation, including physical 

13 or mental torture, threats, insults, or exposure to in14 humane treatment as a means of or an aid to inter15 rogation’’ are ‘‘illegal’’. Such Manual defines ‘‘inflic16 tion of pain through . . . bondage (other than legiti17 mate use of restraints to prevent escape)’’, ‘‘forcing 

18 an individual to stand, sit, or kneel in abnormal po19 sitions for prolonged periods of time’’, ‘‘food depriva20 tion’’, and ‘‘any form of beating’’ as ‘‘physical tor21 ture’’, defines ‘‘abnormal sleep deprivation’’ as 

22 ‘‘mental torture’’, and prohibits the use of such tac23 tics under any circumstances. 

24 (8) The Field Manual on Intelligence Interroga25 tion of the Department of the Army states that 
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1 ‘‘Use of torture and other illegal methods is a poor 

2 technique that yields unreliable results, may damage 

3 subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the 

4 source to say what he thinks the interrogator wants 

5 to hear. Revelation of use of torture by U.S. per6 sonnel will bring discredit upon the U.S. and its 

7 armed forces while undermining domestic and inter8 national support for the war effort. It may also place 

9 U.S. and allied personnel in enemy hands at a great10 er risk of abuse by their captors.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. HUMANE TREATMENT OF DETAINEES. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON TORTURE OR CRUEL, INHU13 MAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT.—(1) 

14 No person in the custody or under the physical control 

15 of the United States shall be subject to torture or cruel, 

16 inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is 

17 prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the 

18 United States. 

19 (2) Nothing in this section shall affect the status of 

20 any person under the Geneva Conventions or whether any 

21 person is entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conven22 tions. 

23 (b) RULES, REGULATIONS, AND GUIDELINES.—(1) 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe the 
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1 rules, regulations, or guidelines necessary to ensure com2 pliance with the prohibition in subsection (a)(1) by the 

3 members of the Armed Forces and by any person pro4 viding services to the Department of Defense on a contract 

5 basis. 

6 (2) The Secretary shall submit to the congressional 

7 defense committees the rules, regulations, or guidelines 

8 prescribed under paragraph (1), and any modifications to 

9 such rules, regulations, or guidelines— 

10 (A) not later than 30 days after the effective 

11 date of such rules, regulations, guidelines, or modi12 fications; and 

13 (B) in a manner and form that will protect the 

14 national security interests of the United States. 

15 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—(1) The Secretary of 

16 Defense shall submit, on a timely basis and not less than 

17 twice each year, a report to Congress on the circumstances 

18 surrounding any investigation of a possible violation of the 

19 prohibition in subsection (a)(1) by a member of the Armed 

20 Forces or by a person providing services to the Depart21 ment of Defense on a contract basis. 

22 (2) A report required under paragraph (1) shall be 

23 submitted in a manner and form that— 

24 (A) will protect the national security interests 

25 of the United States; and 
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1 (B) will not prejudice any prosecution of an in2 dividual involved in, or responsible for, a violation of 

3 the prohibition in subsection (a)(1). 

4 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) The term ‘‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading 

6 treatment or punishment’’ means the cruel, unusual, 

7 and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited 

8 by the 5th amendment, 8th amendment, or 14th 

9 amendment to the Constitution. 

10 (2) The term ‘‘congressional defense commit11 tees’’ means the Committees on Armed Services and 

12 the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 (3) The term ‘‘Geneva Conventions’’ means— 

15 (A) the Convention for the Amelioration of 

16 the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in 

17 Armed Forces in the Field, done at Geneva Au18 gust 12, 1949 (6 UST 3114); 

19 (B) the Convention for the Amelioration of 

20 the Condition of the Wounded, Sick, and Ship21 wrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, 

22 done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 

23 3217); 
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1 (C) the Convention Relative to the Treat2 ment of Prisoners of War, done at Geneva Au3 gust 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316); and 

4 (D) the Convention Relative to the Protec5 tion of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done 

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

7 (4) The term ‘‘torture’’ has the meaning given 

8 that term in section 2340 of title 18, United States 

9 Code. 

10 SEC. 4. ADHERENCE BY UNITED STATES TO OBLIGATIONS 

11 UNDER THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE 

12 AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRAD13 ING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT. 

14 (a) LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE WITH RESPECT TO

15 OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM INDIVIDUALS.—An offi16 cer or employee of the United States may not provide as17 sistance to the government of a foreign country for the 

18 purpose of obtaining information from an individual held 

19 in custody by the foreign government if the officer or em20 ployee has reason to believe that torture or cruel, inhu21 man, or degrading treatment or punishment will be uti22 lized to obtain the information. 

23 (b) LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE WITH RESPECT TO

24 TRANSFER OF INDIVIDUALS.—An officer or employee of 

25 the United States may not encourage or otherwise assist 
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1 the government of a foreign country to transfer, render, 

2 expel, return, or extradite an individual to another country 

3 if the officer or employee has reason to believe that the 

4 individual would be in danger of being subjected to torture 

5 in violation of Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture 

6 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

7 Punishment. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 

8 term ‘‘assist’’ includes the provision of personnel, informa9 tion, equipment, financial assistance, or any other form 

10 of assistance. 

11 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION TO DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES 

12 FOR PURPOSES OF PROHIBITION AGAINST 

13 TORTURE. 

14 Section 2340(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘includes’’ and all that follows 

16 through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘means the 

17 several States of the United States, the District of Colum18 bia, and the commonwealths, territories, and possessions 

19 of the United States.’’. 

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