EXECUTIVE ORDER

– – – – – – –

A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ATROCITY PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

Section 1.  Policy.  As articulated in Presidential Study Directive-10 (PSD-10), preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.  Noting that governmental engagement on mass atrocities and genocide too often arrives too late, when opportunities for prevention or low-cost, low-risk action have been missed, PSD-10 directed the establishment of an interagency Atrocities Prevention Board (Board), with the primary purpose of coordinating a whole-of-government approach to prevent mass atrocities and genocide.  PSD-10 also directed an interagency study to develop and recommend the membership, mandate, structure, operational protocols, authorities, and support necessary for the Board to coordinate and develop atrocity prevention and response policy.  This order continues in place the Board established in 2012 as I directed in PSD-10, sets out the support to be afforded by executive departments, agencies, and offices, and updates and memorializes the terms on which the Board will continue to operate in the service of its important mission.

1. The Board shall be composed of individuals at the Assistant Secretary-level or higher who shall be designated by the leadership of their respective departments or agencies. Within 60 days of a vacancy on the Board, the relevant department or agency or office head shall designate a replacement representative and notify the National Security Advisor. In addition to the Chair, the Board shall consist of the designated representatives from the following:

1. the Office of the Vice President;
2. the Department of State;
3. the Department of the Treasury;
4. the Department of Defense;
5. the Department of Justice;
6. the Department of Homeland Security;
7. the U.S. Mission to the United Nations;
8. the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
9. the Central Intelligence Agency;
10. the U.S. Agency for International Development;
11. the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
12. such other agencies or offices as may request to participate in coordination with the Chair.

1. The Board shall be composed of individuals at the Assistant Secretary-level or higher who shall be designated by the leadership of their respective departments or agencies.  Within 60 days of a vacancy on the Board, the relevant department or agency or office head shall designate a replacement representative and notify the National Security Advisor.  In addition to the Chair, the Board shall consist of the designated representatives from the following:
2. the Office of the Vice President;
3. the Department of State;
4. the Department of the Treasury;
5. the Department of Defense;
6. the Department of Justice;
7. the Department of Homeland Security;
8. the U.S. Mission to the United Nations;
9. the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
10. the Central Intelligence Agency;
11. the U.S. Agency for International Development;
12. the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
13. such other agencies or offices as may request to participate in coordination with the Chair.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice, in coordination with the Department of State, shall continue to develop proposals for legislative, regulatory, or administrative amendments or changes that would permit the more effective use and enforcement of immigration and other laws to deny impunity to perpetrators of mass atrocities and that would enhance our ability to prosecute such perpetrators subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and remove those who are not citizens. Read the whole EO here.

*****

There is yet another Executive Order and this is due to Mr. Weinstein, an American citizen being killed by an Obama drone strike.

Related reading: Obama Apologizes After Drone Kills American and Italian Held by Al Qaeda

The violent death of an American at the hands of his own government proved a searing moment in a drone war that has come to define the nation’s battle with Al Qaeda, especially since President Obama took office. Visibly upset, Mr. Obama came to the White House briefing room shortly after his staff issued a written statement announcing the deaths to make a rare personal apology.

“As president and as commander in chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations,” the grim-faced president told reporters as television cameras broadcast his words. “I profoundly regret what happened,” he added. “On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families.”

Executive Order — United States Policy on Pre- and Post-Strike Measures to Address Civilian Casualties in U.S. Operations Involving the Use of Force

(iv) maintain channels for engagement with the International Committee of the Red Cross and other nongovernmental organizations that operate in conflict zones and encourage such organizations to assist in efforts to distinguish between military objectives and civilians, including by appropriately marking protected facilities, vehicles, and personnel, and by providing updated information on the locations of such facilities and personnel.

Sec. 3. Report on Strikes Undertaken by the U.S. Government Against Terrorist Targets Outside Areas of Active Hostilities. (a) The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), or such other official as the President may designate, shall obtain from relevant agencies information about the number of strikes undertaken by the U.S. Government against terrorist targets outside areas of active hostilities from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016, as well as assessments of combatant and non-combatant deaths resulting from those strikes, and publicly release an unclassified summary of such information no later than May 1, 2017. By May 1 of each subsequent year, as consistent with the need to protect sources and methods, the DNI shall publicly release a report with the same information for the preceding calendar year. Read the full Executive Order here.