[Executive Orders]
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release December 10, 1998
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13107
- - - - - - -
IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, and bearing in mind the
obligations of the United States pursuant to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(CERD), and other relevant treaties concerned with the protection and
promotion of human rights to which the United States is now or may
become a party in the future, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Implementation of Human Rights Obligations. (a) It shall
be the policy and practice of the Government of the United States, being
committed to the protection and promotion of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, fully to respect and implement its obligations
under the international human rights treaties to which it is a party,
including the ICCPR, the CAT, and the CERD.
(b) It shall also be the policy and practice of the Government of the
United States to promote respect for international human rights, both in
our relationships with all other countries and by working with and
strengthening the various international mechanisms for the promotion of
human rights, including, inter alia, those of the United Nations, the
International Labor Organization, and the Organization of American
States.
Sec. 2. Responsibility of Executive Departments and Agencies. (a)
All executive departments and agencies (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 101-105,
including boards and commissions, and hereinafter referred to
collectively as "agency" or "agencies") shall maintain a current
awareness of United States international human rights obligations that
are relevant to their functions and shall perform such functions so as
to respect and implement those obligations fully. The head of each
agency shall designate a single contact officer who will be responsible
for overall coordination of the implementation of this order. Under
this order, all such agencies shall retain their established
institutional roles in the implementation, interpretation, and
enforcement of Federal law and policy.
(b) The heads of agencies shall have lead responsibility, in
coordination with other appropriate agencies, for questions concerning
implementation of human rights obligations that fall within their
respective operating and program responsibilities and authorities or, to
the extent that matters do not fall within the operating and program
responsibilities and authorities of any agency, that most closely relate
to their general areas of concern.
Sec. 3. Human Rights Inquiries and Complaints. Each agency shall
take lead responsibility, in coordination with other appropriate
agencies, for responding to inquiries, requests for information, and
complaints about violations of human rights obligations that fall within
its areas of responsibility or, if the matter does not fall within its
areas of responsibility, referring it to the appropriate agency for
response.
Sec. 4. Interagency Working Group on Human Rights Treaties. (a)
There is hereby established an Interagency Working Group on Human Rights
Treaties for the purpose of providing guidance, oversight, and
coordination with respect to questions concerning the adherence to and
implementation of human rights obligations and related matters.
(b) The designee of the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs shall chair the Interagency Working Group, which shall
consist of appropriate policy and legal representatives at the Assistant
Secretary level from the Department of State, the Department of Justice,
the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, and other agencies as the chair deems appropriate. The principal
members may designate alternates to attend meetings in their stead.
(c) The principal functions of the Interagency Working Group shall
include:
(i) coordinating the interagency review of any significant issues
concerning the implementation of this order and analysis and
recommendations in connection with pursuing the ratification of human
rights treaties, as such questions may from time to time arise;
(ii) coordinating the preparation of reports that are to be submitted
by the United States in fulfillment of treaty obligations;
(iii) coordinating the responses of the United States Government to
complaints against it concerning alleged human rights violations
submitted to the United Nations, the Organization of American States,
and other international organizations;
(iv) developing effective mechanisms to ensure that legislation
proposed by the Administration is reviewed for conformity with
international human rights obligations and that these obligations are
taken into account in reviewing legislation under consideration by the
Congress as well;
(v) developing recommended proposals and mechanisms for improving the
monitoring of the actions by the various States, Commonwealths, and
territories of the United States and, where appropriate, of Native
Americans and Federally recognized Indian tribes, including the review
of State, Commonwealth, and territorial laws for their conformity with
relevant treaties, the provision of relevant information for reports and
other monitoring purposes, and the promotion of effective remedial
mechanisms;
(vi) developing plans for public outreach and education concerning
the provisions of the ICCPR, CAT, CERD, and other relevant treaties, and
human rights-related provisions of domestic law;
(vii) coordinating and directing an annual review of United States
reservations, declarations, and understandings to human rights treaties,
and matters as to which there have been non-trivial complaints or
allegations of inconsistency with or breach of international human
rights obligations, in order to determine whether there should be
consideration of any modification of relevant reservations,
declarations, and understandings to human rights treaties, or United
States practices or laws. The results and recommendations of this
review shall be reviewed by the head of each participating agency;
(viii) making such other recommendations as it shall deem appropriate
to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs, concerning United States adherence to or
implementation of human rights treaties and related matters; and
(ix) coordinating such other significant tasks in connection with
human rights treaties or international human rights institutions,
including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Special
Rapporteurs and complaints procedures established by the United Nations
Human Rights Commission.
(d) The work of the Interagency Working Group shall not supplant the
work of other interagency entities, including the President's Committee
on the International Labor Organization, that address international
human rights issues.
Sec. 5. Cooperation Among Executive Departments and Agencies. All
agencies shall cooperate in carrying out the provisions of this order.
The Interagency Working Group shall facilitate such cooperative
measures.
Sec. 6. Judicial Review, Scope, and Administration. (a) Nothing in
this order shall create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable by any party against the United States, its agencies or
instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
(b) This order does not supersede Federal statutes and does not
impose any justiciable obligations on the executive branch.
(c) The term "treaty obligations" shall mean treaty obligations as
approved by the Senate pursuant to Article II, section 2, clause 2 of
the United States Constitution.
(d) To the maximum extent practicable and subject to the availability
of appropriations, agencies shall carry out the provisions of this
order.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 10, 1998.
30-30-30