Implementation of Human Rights Treaties

Executive Order 13107 of December 10, 1998

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 nontrivial 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.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    December 10, 1998.