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Goals of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture

NRCAT's goals are:

1. Bring about changes in U.S. policy to prohibit -- without exception -- all U.S.-sponsored or U.S.-enabled torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

I. TORTURE OF POST-9/11 DETAINEES
President Obama issued an Executive Order on January 22, 2009 halting torture. Yet there is still more to be learned and much more to be done to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place to end permanently U.S.-sponsored torture. NRCAT will work to:

1. Establish an independent Commission of Inquiry that will investigate the U.S. government's past use of torture and recommend safeguards to ensure that torture is not used again.
2. Secure Changes in Administration Policy, including:
   - Release of the Office of Professional Responsibility report. The report was released on February 19, 2010.
   - Closure of the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay.
   - Removing Appendix M from the Army Field Manual. Appendix M allows for the use of sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation, and sensory deprivation.
3. Codify the elements of the Executive Order and other important anti-torture provisions into law.
   - Pass legislation requiring all interrogation techniques to comply with the "Golden Rule."
   - Pass legislation allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross access to all detainees.
   - Require the CIA to videotape interrogations of detainees.

II. TORTURE IN U.S. PRISONS
The goal of this area will be to ban the use of torture in U.S. prisons.  In particular, NRCAT will work to:

1. Pass the Prison Abuse Remedies Act (PARA) to reform the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) in order to remove unreasonable barriers to prisoners' ability to legally challenge torture and abuse.
2. Collaborate with state-based and regional religious groups to pass state legislation that will end the use of isolation and other forms of torture in state prisons. NRCAT is beginning this work in Maine, and, based on that experience, will expand to the rest of the country.

III. U.S. POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT HELP END TORTURE BY OTHER GOVERNMENTS
Torture is widely practiced by governments across the globe despite prohibitions found in international and national laws. The United States government can use its resources to encourage other countries to reject the use of torture. NRCAT will work to:

1. Encourage the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor to create a "Torture Watch List."  Use the watch list to pressure the U.S. government to take action to end torture in "watch listed" countries.
2. Build support among Members of Congress to legislate additional incentives for governments that take concrete steps to end torture (and disincentives for countries that allow torture).
3. Convince the U.S. government to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.

2. Expand the moral consensus among the American people that torture is never acceptable.

NRCAT will:

• Provide worship resources.
• Provide faith-based study materials.
• Recruit 300 congregations in 30 states to screen the video "Ending U.S-sponsored Torture Forever" and to use one of six faith group specific discussion guides.
• Work closely with national faith group bodies, state interfaith and ecumenical bodies and other regional bodies to reach congregations on these issues.
• Use Torture Awareness Month (June) to promote NRCAT's programs.
• Generate media coverage.

3. Encourage and enable national denominations, faith groups, national and regional religious organizations, congregations, and individual people of faith to engage actively in efforts to end torture including educating the public about torture and detainee treatment and urging the public to end torture.

For more, go to NRCAT's 2010 Agenda.