WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association applauded President Obama’s signing of the FY 2016 defense authorization bill, which includes an amendment reaffirming the statutory prohibition on the torture of detainees in U.S. custody and limits interrogation techniques to those included in the Army Field Manual.
The amendment, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also broadens the scope of the prohibition against torture to include all U.S. government entities and mandates periodic review of the Army Field Manual to ensure it reflects “current, evidence-based, best practices for interrogation that are designed to elicit reliable and voluntary statements and do not involve the use or threat of force.”
“Enactment of this amendment is a major step toward affirming our country’s commitment to basic human rights,” said APA President Barry S. Anton, PhD. “Our support for this amendment reflects APA’s fundamental mission to protect and promote human welfare and our policies that extend to national security detention settings to provide safeguards to detainees in U.S. custody.”
APA is an accredited nongovernmental organization at the United Nations and is committed to promoting and protecting human rights in accordance with the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Dating to 1985, APA policy “condemns torture wherever it occurs” and is based on the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
APA supported a similar amendment offered by McCain 10 years ago — the Detainee Welfare Act of 2005 — and the inclusion of its provisions in the 2009 presidential executive order “Ensuring Lawful Interrogations.”
“APA urges Congress and the Obama administration to continue to take affirmative actions to ensure that detainees in U.S. custody are treated fairly and humanely, while granting all rights guaranteed to them under the U.S. Constitution, the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions,” Anton said.
For more information about APA’s related initiatives, see the Timeline of APA Policies & Actions Related to Detainee Welfare and Professional Ethics in the Context of Interrogation and National Security.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 122,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.