THE WHITE HOUSE
                     Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  December 10, 1998
                            EXECUTIVE ORDER
                             - - - - - - -
                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 non-trivial 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.
                                 WILLIAM J. CLINTON
                                 THE WHITE HOUSE,
                                 December 10, 1998.
                                 30-30-30

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