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Publicly announce and demonstrate its opposition to
disappearances by:
o
Making clear that disappearances will not be tolerated under
any circumstances.
o
Holding criminally responsible officials who order or tolerate
disappearances by those under their command.
Bring all detainees under the full protection of the law. While
the situation of detainees may differ, all should be afforded the fundamental
guarantees provided for under international law. Restrictions on their rights
which may be justified by emergency situations that threaten the life of the
nation, such as restrictions on the right to counsel and the right to a fair
trial, should be limited in time and subject to periodic judicial supervision;
the need for any such restrictions should be periodically revisited with a view
to incrementally allowing detainees to enjoy more rights.
Hold detainees only in officially recognized places of detention.
The names of detainees and their places of detention, including transfers, as
well as the names of persons responsible for their detention, should be kept in
registers readily available and accessible to those concerned.
Grant unrestricted access to the International Committee of the
Red Cross to all detainees held pursuant to anti-terrorist operations.
Ensure that all detentions anywhere in the world that result from
anti-terrorist operations are subject to periodic judicial oversight or to the
protections of the Geneva Conventions.
Take the necessary legislative steps to ensure that the
commission of a disappearance constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by
sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the practice.
Allow an impartial and independent investigation into allegations
of torture and mistreatment, and of clandestine, for all persons deprived of
their liberty in U.S. custody. The investigation should be empowered to
recommend the creation of a special prosecutor to probe possible criminal
offenses. The investigation should examine, among other things, the link
between administration policy discussions and memos and actual practices in U.S. places of detention.
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