No one has mentioned this on TiPS yet so I thought I would be the first.
It is regarding the petition against psychologists assisting in acts of
torture. I know that there are people more knowledgeable about this
than I on this list who can probably provide more information.
-Mike Palij
New York University
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 2:58 PM
Subject: [DIV52] petition results announcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008
CONTACT: APA Office of Public Affairs
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(202) 336-5700
APA MEMBERS APPROVE PETITION RESOLUTION
ON DETAINEE SETTINGS
WASHINGTON -- The petition resolution stating that psychologists may not work
in settings where "persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either
International Law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva
Conventions) or the US Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are
working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third
party working to protect human rights" was approved by a vote of the APA
membership. The final vote tally was 8,792 voting in favor of the resolution;
6,157 voting against the resolution. To become policy, a petition resolution
needs to be approved by a majority of those members voting.
Per the Association's Rules and Bylaws, the resolution will become official APA
policy as of the Association's next annual meeting, which will take place in
August 2009. At that time, the APA Council of Representatives will also
determine what further action may be necessary to implement the policy.
The approval of the petition resolution represents a significant change in
APA's policy regarding the involvement of psychologists in interrogations. The
petition resolution limits the roles of psychologists in certain defined
settings where persons are detained to working directly for detainees or for an
independent third party to protect human rights, or to providing treatment to
other military personnel.
This new petition resolution expands on the 2007 APA resolution, which called
on the U.S. government to ban at least 19 specific abusive interrogation
techniques, including waterboarding, that are regarded as torture by
international standards. The 2007 resolution also recognized that "torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment can result not only
from the behavior of individuals, but also from the conditions of confinement,"
and expressed "grave concern over settings in which detainees are deprived of
adequate protection of their human rights."
APA will continue to call upon the Department of Defense and Congress to
safeguard the welfare and human rights of detainees held outside of the United
States and to investigate their treatment to ensure the highest ethical
standards are being upheld.
# # #
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest
scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United
States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's
membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians,
consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology
and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial
associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and
as a means of promoting human welfare.
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