Synopsis "Detainee Operations (Joint Publication 3-63)"
This publication, "Detainee Operations (Joint Publication 3-630," provides guidelines for planning and executing detainee operations. It outlines responsibilities and discusses organizational options, and command and control considerations across the range of military operations. U.S. forces must be prepared to properly control, maintain, protect, and account for all categories of detainees in accordance with applicable U.S. law, the law of war, and applicable U.S. policy. The challenges of today's security environment and the nature of the enemy require clear operational and strategic guidance for detainee operations in a joint environment. Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 2310.01E, The Department of Defense Detainee Program establishes the overarching Department of Defense (DOD) detainee policy and directs that all detainees shall be treated humanely at all times during all armed conflicts, however characterized, and in all other military operations. The standards of treatment set forth in the directive apply to all DOD components and DOD contractors assigned to or supporting the DOD components engaged in, conducting, participating in, or supporting detainee operations. These standards also apply to all non-DOD personnel as a condition of permitting access to internment facilities or to detainees under DOD control. Inhumane treatment of detainees is prohibited by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, domestic and international law, and DOD policy. There is no exception to this humane treatment requirement. Accordingly, the stress of combat operations, the need for intelligence, or deep provocation by captured and/or detained personnel does not justify deviation from this obligation. Often referred to as the law of armed conflict, the law of war encompasses all international law for the conduct of hostilities binding on the United States or its individual citizens, including treaties and international agreements to which the United States is a party. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 are fully applicable as a matter of international law to all military operations that qualify as international armed conflicts. These treaties are intended to provide comprehensive humanitarian standards for the treatment of war victims without discrimination. There are three categories of detainees. Enemy combatants are personnel engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners during an armed conflict. Retained personnel are enemy medical personnel and medical staff administrators who are engaged in either the search for, collection, transport, or treatment of the wounded or sick, or the prevention of disease; chaplains attached to enemy armed forces; or the staff of national Red Cross Societies and that of other volunteer aid societies duly recognized and authorized by their governments to assist medical service personnel of their own armed forces, provided they are exclusively engaged in the search for, or the collection, transport, or treatment of, the wounded or sick, or in the prevention of disease, and provided that the staff of such societies are subject to military laws and regulations. Civilian internees are civilians who are interned during an armed conflict, occupation, or other military operation for security reasons, for protection, or because he or she has committed an offense against the detaining power.
