Thursday, January 22, 2009

Obama signs order to close Guantánamo Bay

EXECUTIVE ORDER
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REVIEW AND DISPOSITION OF INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT THE
GUANTÁNAMO BAY NAVAL BASE AND CLOSURE OF DETENTION
FACILITIES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, in order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained by the
Department of Defense at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base (“Guantánamo”) and promptly to
close the detention facilities at Guantánamo, consistent with the national security and foreign
policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, I hereby order as follows:
Section 1. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) “Common Article 3” means Article 3 of each 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, Aug. 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, Aug. 12, 1949 (6 UST 3217);
(iii) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Aug. 12, 1949
(6 UST 3316); and
(iv) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
Aug. 12, 1949 (6 UST 3516).
(c) “Individuals currently detained at Guantánamo” and “individuals covered by this
order” mean individuals currently detained by the Department of Defense in facilities at
the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base whom the Department of Defense has ever determined
to be or treated as enemy combatants.
Sec. 2. Findings.
(a) Over the past seven years, approximately 800 individuals whom the Federal
Government has identified as enemy combatants have been detained at Guantánamo.
The Federal Government has moved more than 500 such detainees from Guantánamo,
either by returning them to their home country or by releasing or transferring them to a
third country. The Department of Defense has determined that a number of the
individuals currently detained at Guantánamo are eligible for such transfer or release.
(b) Some individuals currently detained at Guantánamo have been there for more than
six years, and most have been detained for at least four years. In view of the significant
concerns raised by these detentions, both within the United States and internationally,
prompt and appropriate disposition of the individuals currently detained at Guantánamo
and closure of the facility would further the national security and foreign policy interests
of the United States and the interests of justice. Merely closing the facility without
promptly determining the appropriate disposition of the individuals detained would not
adequately serve those interests. To the extent practicable, the prompt and appropriate
disposition of the individuals detained at Guantanamo should precede the closure of the
detention facilities at Guantanamo.
(c) The individuals currently detained at Guantánamo have the constitutional privilege of
the writ of habeas corpus. Most of those individuals have filed petitions for a writ of
habeas corpus in Federal court challenging the lawfulness of their detention.
(d) It is in the interests of the United States that the Administration undertake a prompt
and thorough review of the factual and legal bases for the continued detention of all
individuals currently held at Guantánamo, and of whether their continued detention is in
the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and in the interests
of justice. The unusual circumstances associated with detentions at Guantánamo require
a comprehensive interagency review.
(e) New diplomatic efforts may result in an appropriate disposition of a substantial
number of individuals currently detained at Guantánamo.
(f) Some individuals currently detained at Guantánamo may have committed offenses for
which they should be prosecuted. It is in the interests of the United States to review
whether and how any such individuals can and should be prosecuted.
(g) It is in the interests of the United States that the Administration conduct a prompt and
thorough review of the circumstances of the individuals currently detained at
Guantánamo who have been charged with offenses before military commissions pursuant
to the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Public Law 109-366, as well as of the military
commission process more generally.
Sec. 3. Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantánamo. The detention facilities at Guantánamo
for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than one
year from the date of this order. If any individuals covered by this order remain in detention at
Guantánamo at the time of closure of those detention facilities, they shall be returned to their
home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States
detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy
interests of the United States.
Sec. 4. Immediate Review of All Guantánamo Detentions.
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(a) Scope and Timing of Review. A review of the status of each individual currently
detained at Guantánamo (“Review”) shall commence immediately.
(b) Review Participants. The Review shall be conducted with the full cooperation and
participation of the following officials:
(1) the Attorney General, who shall coordinate the Review;
(2) the Secretary of Defense;
(3) the Secretary of State;
(4) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(5) the Director of National Intelligence;
(6) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
(7) other officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees of the
United States, including employees with intelligence, counterterrorism, military,
and legal expertise, as determined by the Attorney General, with the concurrence
of the head of the department or agency concerned.
(c) Operation of Review. The duties of the Review participants shall include the
following:
(1) Consolidation of Detainee Information. The Attorney General shall, to the
extent reasonably practicable, and in coordination with the other Review
participants, assemble all information in the possession of the Federal
Government that pertains to any individual currently detained at Guantánamo and
that is relevant to determining the proper disposition of any such individual. All
executive branch departments and agencies shall promptly comply with any
request of the Attorney General to provide information in their possession or
control pertaining to any such individual. The Attorney General may seek further
information relevant to the Review from any source.
(2) Determination of Transfer. The Review shall determine, on a rolling basis and
as promptly as possible with respect to each individual currently detained at
Guantánamo, whether it is possible to transfer or release the individuals consistent
with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and, if
so, whether and how the Secretary of Defense may effect their transfer or release
on appropriate terms and conditions. The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
State, and, as appropriate, other Review participants shall work to effect promptly
the release or transfer of all individuals for whom release or transfer is possible on
such terms and conditions.
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(3) Determination of Prosecution. In accordance with United States law, the cases
of individuals detained at Guantánamo not approved for release or transfer shall
be evaluated to determine whether the Federal Government should seek to
prosecute the detained individuals for any offenses they may have committed,
including whether it is feasible to prosecute such individuals before a court
established pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution, and the
Review participants shall in turn take the necessary and appropriate steps based
on such determinations.
(4) Determination of Other Disposition. With respect to any individuals currently
detained at Guantánamo whose disposition is not achieved under subsections
(c)(2) or (c)(3) of this section, the Review shall select lawful means, consistent
with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the
interests of justice, for the disposition of such individuals. The appropriate
authorities shall promptly implement such dispositions.
(5) Consideration of Issues Relating to Transfer to United States. The Review
shall identify and consider legal, logistical, and security issues relating to the
potential transfer of individuals currently detained at Guantánamo to facilities
within the United States and the review participants shall work with Congress on
any legislation that may be appropriate.
Sec. 5. Diplomatic Efforts. The Secretary of State shall expeditiously pursue and direct such
negotiations and diplomatic efforts with foreign governments as are necessary and appropriate to
implement this order.
Sec. 6. Humane Standards of Confinement. No individual currently detained at Guantánamo
shall be held in the custody or under the effective control of any officer, employee, or other agent
of the United States Government, or at a facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department
or agency of the United States, except in conformity with all applicable laws governing the
conditions of such confinement, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The
Secretary of Defense shall immediately undertake a review of the conditions of detention at
Guantánamo to ensure full compliance with this directive. Such review shall be completed
within 30 days and any necessary corrections implemented immediately thereafter.
Sec. 7. Military Commissions. The Secretary of Defense shall immediately take steps sufficient
to ensure that during the pendency of the Review described in section 4 of this order no charges
are sworn, or referred to a military commission, under the Military Commissions Act of 2006,
Pub. L. 109-366, and the Rules thereto, and that all proceedings of such military commissions to
which charges have been referred but in which no judgment has been rendered, and all
proceedings pending in the United States Court of Military Commission Review, are halted.
Sec. 8. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall prejudice the authority of the Secretary of Defense to
determine the disposition of any detainees not covered by this order.
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(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
[signed:] Barack Obama
THE WHITE HOUSE
January xx, 2009
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