ICTJ In Focus Issue 5 August 2011
White House Press Release: Presidential Study Directive on Mass Atrocities
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
Press Release Originally Published 4 Aug 2011
PRESIDENTIAL STUDY DIRECTIVE/PSD-10
MEMORANDUM FOR
THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF
DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
DIRECTOR OF THE PEACE CORPS
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO THE VICE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
DIRECTOR OF THE DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
SUBJECT: Creation of an Interagency Atrocities Prevention Board and Corresponding Interagency Review
Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.
Our security is affected when masses of civilians are slaughtered, refugees flow across borders, and murderers wreak havoc on regional stability and livelihoods. America’s reputation suffers, and our ability to bring about change is constrained, when we are perceived as idle in the face of mass atrocities and genocide. Unfortunately, history has taught us that our pursuit of a world where states do not systematically slaughter civilians will not come to fruition without concerted and coordinated effort.
Governmental engagement on atrocities and genocide too often arrives too late, when opportunities for prevention or low-cost, low-risk action have been missed. By the time these issues have commanded the attention of senior policy makers, the menu of options has shrunk considerably and the costs of action have risen.
In the face of a potential mass atrocity, our options are never limited to either sending in the military or standing by and doing nothing. The actions that can be taken are many they range from economic to diplomatic interventions, and from non combat military actions to outright intervention. But ensuring that the full range of options is available requires a level of governmental organization that matches the methodical organization characteristic of mass killings.
Sixty six years since the Holocaust and 17 years after Rwanda, the United States still lacks a comprehensive policy framework and a corresponding interagency mechanism for preventing and responding to mass atrocities and genocide. This has left us ill prepared to engage early, proactively, and decisively to prevent threats from evolving into large scale civilian atrocities.
Accordingly, I hereby direct the establishment of an interagency Atrocities Prevention Board within 120 days from the date of this Presidential Study Directive. The primary purpose of the Atrocities Prevention Board shall be to coordinate a whole of government approach to preventing mass atrocities and genocide. By institutionalizing the coordination of atrocity prevention, we can ensure: (1) that our national security apparatus recognizes and is responsive to early indicators of potential atrocities; (2) that departments and agencies develop and implement comprehensive atrocity prevention and response strategies in a manner that allows “red flags” and dissent to be raised to decision makers; (3) that we increase the capacity and develop doctrine for our foreign service, armed services, development professionals, and other actors to engage in the full spectrum of smart prevention activities; and (4) that we are optimally positioned to work with our allies in order to ensure that the burdens of atrocity prevention and response are appropriately shared.
To this end, I direct the National Security Advisor to lead a focused interagency study to develop and recommend the membership, mandate, structure, operational protocols, authorities, and support necessary for the Atrocities Prevention Board to coordinate and develop atrocity prevention and response policy. Specifically, the interagency review shall identify:
operational protocols necessary for the Atrocities Prevention Board to coordinate and institutionalize the Federal Government’s efforts to prevent and respond to potential atrocities and genocide, including but not limited to: identifying (standing and ex officio) members of the Atrocities Prevention Board; defining the scope of the Atrocity Prevention Board’s mandate and the means by which it will ensure that the full range of options and debate is presented to senior-level decision makers; identifying triggers for the development of atrocity prevention strategies; identifying any specific authority the Atrocities Prevention Board or its members should have with respect to alerting the President to a potential genocide or atrocity;
how the Intelligence Community and other relevant Government agencies can best support the Atrocities Prevention Board’s mission, including but not limited to: examining the multiplicity of existing early warning assessments in order to recommend how these efforts can be better coordinated and/or consolidated, support the work of the Atrocities Prevention Board, and drive the development of atrocity prevention strategies and policies; examining options for improving intelligence and open source assessments of the potential for genocide and mass atrocities; and examining protocols for safely declassifying and/or sharing intelligence when needed to galvanize regional actors, allies, or relevant institutions to respond to an atrocity or genocide; and
steps toward creating a comprehensive policy framework for preventing mass atrocities, including but not limited to: conducting an inventory of existing tools and authorities across the Government that can be drawn upon to prevent atrocities; identifying new tools or capabilities that may be required; identifying how we can better support and train our foreign and armed services, development professionals, and build the capacity of key regional allies and partners, in order to be better prepared to prevent and respond to mass atrocities or genocide.
In answering these questions, the interagency review shall consider the recommendations of relevant bipartisan and expert studies, including the recommendations of the bipartisan Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretaries Madeleine K. Albright and William Cohen.
I direct the National Security Advisor, through the National Security Staff’s Director for War Crimes and Atrocities, to oversee and direct the interagency review, which shall include representatives from the following:
Office of the Vice President
Department of State
Department of the Treasury
Department of Defense
Department of Justice
Department of Homeland Security
United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
United States Agency for International Development
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Peace Corps
National Security Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
Executive departments and agencies shall be responsive to all requests from the National Security Advisor-led interagency review committee for information, analysis, and assistance.
The interagency review shall be completed within 100 days, so that the Atrocities Prevention Board can commence its work within 120 days from the date of this Presidential Study Directive.
BARACK OBAMA
President Obama Signs Proclamation, Creates ‘Atrocities Prevention Board’
By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – In an effort to curb future human rights violations, President Obama signed a proclamation that will bar human rights violators from entering the United States. Further, Obama will establish an Atrocities Prevention Board as an early warning system for future human rights violations.
The Atrocities Prevention Board will be comprised of officials from the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, and other agencies, according to The New York Times. The Board will work with U.S. allies in order to prevent atrocities as soon as there is potential for abuse. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the new tactics aim to strengthen the United States’ ability to prevent mass atrocities.
In addition to establishing the Atrocities Prevention Board, President Obama issued a proclamation that “explicitly bars entry into the United States of persons who organize or participate in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of human rights,” according to the fact sheet distributed by the White House. While the United States already prevents some human rights violators from entering the country, this new tactic will fill in some of the gaps.
The major reason President Obama wanted to create this board, according to The New York Times, is to avoid a situation where the president only has two options: either intervene militarily or do nothing at all.
This proclamation comes sixty-six years after the Holocaust, and seventeen years after the Rwandan genocide. President Obama stated, “[T]he United States still lacks a comprehensive policy framework and a corresponding interagency mechanism for preventing a responding to mass atrocities and genocide,” as reported by United Press International (“UPI”).
The new initiative comes in the middle of a worsening situation in Syria, where the government has taken a violent stand against pro-democracy protestors, according to The New York Times. Additionally, there are worries about ethnic cleansing in Sudan. As of now, the U.S. is imposing economic sanctions on Syria, but many are calling for harsher punishment.
Although the new initiative may not change how and when Washington addresses issues of genocide, Tom Malinowski, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, says that “[the new] directives should help to overcome the bureaucratic resistance and indifference that often delays steps that might prevent such catastrophes in the first place,” as reported by ThirdAge.com.
The White House announced that with the new directive, “we will be able to more effectively shame those who are organizing such conduct,” according to UPI. The United States needs to stand up for humanitarian law and avoid becoming a safe haven for human rights abusers.
The Atrocities Prevention Board will be set up within 120 days from Thursday, August 4.
For more information, please visit:
ThirdAge.com — Human Rights Watch Welcomes Atrocities Initiative — 8 Aug. 2011
UPI.com — Obama Creates Atrocities Prevention Board — 4 Aug. 2011
WhiteHouse.gov — FACT SHEET: President Obama Directs New Steps to Prevent Mass Atrocities and Impose Consequences on Serious Human Rights Violators — 4 Aug. 2011
The New York Times — Obama Takes Steps to Help Avert Atrocities — 3 Aug. 2011
UN Report Illustrates Iraq Human Rights Abuses
By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
BAGHDAD, IRAQ — The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on Monday that highlighted a fragile plague of human rights abuses in Iraq.
The report details how armed violence has become an everyday part of life for a large number of Iraqis, with minorities (especially members of the LGBT community), women, and children suffering disproportionately. Torture and other matters of impunity are also rampant throughout the Middle Eastern state.
According to UN and Iraqi government estimates, approximately 3,000 civilians were killed by violence in 2010. Armed insurgents and terrorist groups were the main culprits behind these attacks. The majority of the targeted civilians have been religious leaders, journalists, and medical and education professionals.
The report also notes many “silent” human rights violations. “Widespread poverty, economic stagnation, lack of opportunities, environmental degradation, and an absence of basic services…affect large sectors of the population,” it says.
Political rights, such as the freedom of expression and the right to assembly, have slightly improved from previous years, but still have many challenges.
There are significant problems with Iraq’s system of law, especially with respect to due process and fair trial rights. Defendants are frequently unaware of the charges being brought against them, have no access to lawyers, and are held longer than legally allowed without trial. The condition of detention centers has improved, but there is still a large overemphasis on using confessions to convict, which has led to an ideal environment for torture.
Women’s rights issues continue to hover on the human rights radar with instances of domestic violence, trafficking, genital mutilation, and honor crimes continually being reported.
The battle to end impunity for those who commit human rights abuses “remains a serious challenge in Iraq. Perpetrators of crimes committed over many years continue to be unaccountable.”
The report concludes by giving some suggestions for fixing the current abuses, including placing a limit on the arresting powers of the police, putting a moratorium on the death penalty, and creating and enforcing laws designed to protect individual rights.
The Iraqi response to the current state of its human rights record has been mainly aimed at the UN, and what they call its “limited role” in the involvement of the difficult nation-building process that is currently on going in Iraq. The hope is that a stronger presence in Iraq by the UN would lead to greater successes in nation building, specifically in the area of human rights.
Iraq has been closely scrutinized for its human rights record for years. In June, the UN special representative to Iraq urged, yet so far unsuccessfully, the government to ratify the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It appears that while there have been many advances made towards recognizing human rights violations the government is still facing many obstacles.
For more information, please see:
AFP — UN calls situation in Iraq ‘fragile’ — 8 Aug 2011
Aswat al-Iraq — UN should play greater role — 8 Aug 2011
CNN — Significant human rights issues noted in U.N. report on Iraq — 8 Aug 2011
Examiner — UN: Iraq plagued with numerous human rights violations — 8 Aug 2011
Jurist — Iraq human rights abuses continue: UN report — 8 Aug 2011
United Nations — Human rights in Iraq remain fragile amid armed violence, torture, and impunity — 8 Aug 2011
Four Guatemalan Soldiers Guilty of Massacre Sentenced to 6,060 Years in Prison
by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Four soldiers, who committed a massacre in 1982 in the town of Las Dos Erres, have recently been sentenced. A Guatemalan court found all four guilty and each man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for each victim murdered. The court placed the number of victims at 201 and additionally sentenced each of the four men to 30 years in prison, for crimes against humanity, sending each man to jail for 6,060 years.
The four ex-soldiers, Manuel Pop Sun, Reyes Collin Gualip, Daniel Martínez Hernandez and Carlos Carías, were all members of an elite military force named the Kaibiles. The men entered the town of Las Dos Erres in December of 1982 and over three days they questioned and killed men, women, children and the elderly of the village. Victim’s bodies show evidence of torture and many of the women were raped. Bodies of some victims were tossed down a village well.
The Kaibiles forces at the time were working to maintain the military rule of General Efraín Ríos Montt, in the face of many insurgent factions. The village of Los Dos Erres was suspected of supporting and harboring left-wing guerillas. Despite the court placing the number of victims at 201, local survivors and family members of victims claim that the true number killed is over 250.
Back in 2001, then-President Alfonso Portillo acknowledged the government’s role in the massacre and awarded the families of victims a fund of $1.8 million. Then in 2003, the Guatemalan government created the National Compensation Program (PNR) as a response to the 200,000 civilian deaths that occurred during the 36 year internal conflict. Budget for the PNR stands at $40 million and the administration is working to resolve more than 98,000 complaints that have been filed.
The sentencing handed down on 3 August was the first effort by Guatemalan authorities to do more than set up monetary funding and to actually hold those responsible accountable for their actions. Human rights groups applaud the effort as a solid first step but indicate that further action is needed.
Sebastian Elgueta, a researcher for Amnesty International’s Central America division stated, “Although this ruling is a step forward in the fight against impunity in Guatemala, soldiers did not commit these crimes on their own initiative, and the authorities must bring to justice those all the way up the chain of command who planned and ordered the crimes.”
For more information, please see;
The Guatemala Times – Amnesty International: Guatemalan Former Soldiers Sentenced to 6,060 Years for Massacre – 4 August 2011
Jurist Legal News and Research – Guatemala Court Sentences Ex-Soldiers to Over 6,000 Years in Prison – 3 August 2011
Los Angeles Times – Human Rights Advocates Applaud Sentences in Guatemala Massacre – 3 August 2011
BBC News – Guatemala Dos Erres Massacre Soldiers Sentenced – 2 August 2011
Reuters News – Guatemala Sentences Four in Landmark Civil War Trial – 2 August 2011