Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 137292016-12307
A Comprehensive Approach to Atrocity Prevention and Response
Primary source
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Published
May 23, 2016
Signed
May 18, 2016
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 99 (Monday, May 23, 2016)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 99 (Monday, May 23, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 32611-32615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12307]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 99 / Monday, May 23, 2016 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 32611]]
Executive Order 13729 of May 18, 2016
A Comprehensive Approach to Atrocity Prevention
and Response
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
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.
Sec. 2. Definition. For purposes of this order, the
term ``mass atrocities'' or ``atrocities,'' neither of
which is defined under international law, refers to
large scale and deliberate attacks on civilians, and
includes acts falling within the definition
``genocide'' as defined in international law and under
U.S. domestic statute.
Sec. 3. Responsibilities. The Board shall seek to
ensure that mass atrocities and the risk thereof are
effectively considered and appropriately addressed by
the U.S. Government, and shall coordinate the
development and execution of policies and tools to
enhance our capacity to prevent and respond to mass
atrocities.
(a) In order to ensure that emerging mass atrocity
risks and mass atrocity situations are considered and
addressed, the Board shall monitor developments around
the world that heighten the risk of mass atrocities,
and analyze and closely review specific mass atrocity
threats or situations of heightened concern.
(b) The Board shall also identify any gaps related
to the prevention of and response to mass atrocities in
the current policies and ongoing interagency processes
concerning particular regions or countries and shall
make recommendations to strengthen policies, programs,
resources, and tools related to mass atrocity
prevention and response to relevant executive
departments and agencies (agencies), including through
the Board's function as an interagency policy
committee, as detailed in section 4 of this order. In
these efforts, the Board shall focus in particular on
ways for the U.S. Government to develop, strengthen,
and enhance its capabilities to:
(i) monitor, receive early warning of, and coordinate responses to
potential mass atrocities;
(ii) deter and isolate perpetrators of mass atrocities through all
available and appropriate authorities;
[[Page 32612]]
(iii) promote accountability of and deny impunity for perpetrators of mass
atrocities, including by denying safe haven for perpetrators found in the
United States;
(iv) engage allies and partners, including the United Nations and other
multilateral and regional institutions, to build capacity and mobilize
action for preventing and responding to mass atrocities;
(v) deploy civilian personnel with expertise in conflict prevention,
civilian protection, mediation, and other relevant skills, including on a
rapid response basis, to assist in mass atrocity prevention and response
efforts;
(vi) increase capacity for our diplomats, armed services, development
professionals, and other actors to engage in mass atrocity prevention and
response activities;
(vii) develop and implement tailored foreign assistance programs as well as
doctrine for our armed services to address and mitigate the risks of mass
atrocities;
(viii) ensure intelligence collection, analysis, and sharing of
information, as appropriate, relating to mass atrocity threats and
situations; and
(ix) address any other issue regarding mass atrocity prevention and
response that the Board determines is appropriate.
Sec. 4. Structure and Protocols of the Atrocities
Prevention Board. The Board shall continue to operate
and will have the following structure and protocols:
(a) The Board shall function as an interagency
policy committee, or body of equivalent standing,
chaired by a member of the National Security Council
staff at the Senior Director level or higher who shall
be designated by the President (Chair).
(b) The Chair shall convene the Board on a monthly
basis to perform the responsibilities set forth in
section 3 of this order. The Board shall also meet as
needed on an ad hoc and time-sensitive basis to
consider and address emerging mass atrocity threats or
situations.
(c) The Deputies Committee of the National Security
Council (Deputies) shall meet at least twice per year,
and the Principals Committee of the National Security
Council (Principals) shall meet at least once per year,
to review and direct the work of the Board.
(d) 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:
(i) the Office of the Vice President;
(ii) the Department of State;
(iii) the Department of the Treasury;
(iv) the Department of Defense;
(v) the Department of Justice;
(vi) the Department of Homeland Security;
(vii) the U.S. Mission to the United Nations;
(viii) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
(ix) the Central Intelligence Agency;
(x) the U.S. Agency for International Development;
(xi) the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
(xii) such other agencies or offices as may request to participate in
coordination with the Chair.
[[Page 32613]]
(e) The Chair shall report, through the National
Security Advisor, to the President by April 30 each
year on the work of the U.S. Government in mass
atrocity prevention and response, including the work of
the Board.
(f) The Chair shall prepare written updates for the
public, on an annual basis, on the work of the U.S.
Government in mass atrocity prevention and response,
including the work of the Board.
(g) Consistent with the objectives set out in this
order and in accordance with applicable law, the Board
shall conduct outreach, including regular
consultations, with representatives of nongovernmental
organizations with expertise in mass atrocity
prevention and response and other appropriate parties.
Such outreach shall be for the purpose of assisting the
Board with its work on considering and addressing
emerging mass atrocity threats or situations and on
developing new or improved policies and tools, as well
as for the purpose of providing transparency on the
work of the Board.
(h) In order to conduct the work set forth in this
order effectively, the Board may:
(i) request information or analysis from the Intelligence Community (IC),
Chiefs of Mission, agencies, and offices;
(ii) develop policy recommendations and programmatic recommendations for
agencies, offices, and existing interagency processes;
(iii) in conjunction with existing interagency processes, formulate policy
recommendations and programmatic recommendations;
(iv) coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop
guidance on mass atrocity prevention resource priorities for agencies and
offices; and
(v) bring urgent or significant matters to the attention of the Deputies
and, as appropriate, request that the Deputies convene to address a
situation of concern, consistent with Presidential Policy Directive-1 or
its successor.
Sec. 5. Enhancing Capabilities and Tools. Agencies
shall take the following actions in support of the
United States Government's policy of working to prevent
and respond to mass atrocities:
(a) Agencies, in coordination with the Board, shall
ensure that mass atrocity prevention and response
staffing, training, funding, and activities are
addressed in their strategic planning and budget
processes, including Department Quadrennial Reviews,
Mission Resource Requests, State Department Integrated
Country Strategies, U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) Joint Strategic Plans, State
Department Bureau Strategic Resource Plans, and related
strategic planning and budget processes and documents.
The Chair shall make recommendations to the National
Security Advisor on the inclusion of material in the
President's National Security Strategy that addresses
mass atrocity prevention and response.
(b) The Department of State and USAID shall work
with OMB to support the maintenance of civilian
assistance accounts and authorities that enable swift
civilian responses to mass atrocity threats and
situations.
(c) The Department of State and USAID shall offer
mass atrocity prevention and response training courses
to all officers deployed or planning deployment to
countries deemed by the IC to be at high or substantial
risk for mass atrocities.
(d) The Department of State and USAID shall
continue to build and use civilian capacity (i.e., the
ability to deploy personnel with expertise in conflict
prevention, civilian protection, mediation, and other
relevant skills) effectively for mass atrocity
prevention and response, and shall develop mechanisms
for enhanced partnerships with non-U.S. Government
actors that could provide surge capacity, such as the
United Nations and other multilateral and regional
organizations, foreign governments, and nongovernmental
organizations.
[[Page 32614]]
(e) The IC shall continue to monitor developments
worldwide and, as changing conditions warrant, prepare
an IC-coordinated assessment updating IC judgments in
its National Intelligence Estimate on the global risk
of mass atrocities and genocide at regular intervals to
inform the work of the Board.
(f) Recognizing mass atrocity prevention as a core
national security interest of the United States, the IC
shall allocate resources so as to permit a collection
surge for countries where the Board determines, and the
Deputies concur, that there are ongoing or acute risks
of mass atrocities that merit increased attention, in
accordance with the National Intelligence Priority
Framework and available resources.
(g) The IC shall work with partner governments to
encourage the collection and analysis of mass atrocity-
related intelligence and the sharing of this
intelligence with the U.S. Government and its partners
in mass atrocity prevention and response.
(h) 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.
(i) The Department of Defense (DOD) shall continue
to develop joint doctrine and training that support
mass atrocity prevention and response operations and
shall address mass atrocity prevention and response as
part of its general planning guidance to combatant
commands and services.
(j) The Department of State, the Department of the
Treasury, DHS, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
(USUN), and other agencies as appropriate, shall
coordinate with bilateral and multilateral partners on
the deployment of mass atrocity prevention and response
tools, including isolating and deterring perpetrators
of mass atrocities through all available authorities
(including administrative actions, visa authorities,
and capacity-building support), as appropriate.
(k) The Department of State, in coordination with
USUN, DOD, and other agencies as appropriate, shall
work bilaterally, multilaterally, and with regionally
based organizations to enhance effectiveness in the
fields of early warning, analysis, prevention,
response, and accountability, and shall work with
international partners to build or encourage building
the capacity of our allies and partners to prevent and
respond to mass atrocities.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Members of the Board
shall serve without any additional compensation for
their work on the Board.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof, or the status of that department or agency within the Federal
Government; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary,
administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law, and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 32615]]
(d) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 18, 2016.
[FR Doc. 2016-12307
Filed 5-20-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 23, 2016.
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