Open Letter in Response to the American Psychological Association Board

Similarly, the APA Board still refuses to acknowledge the evidence
of apparent collusion between APA officials and the national security
apparatus in providing ethical cover for psychologists' participation
in detainee abuse. This collusion was most notable in the creation of
the military-dominated PENS task force. Only a policy that comes to
terms with this APA collusion can begin to reduce the furor among APA
members, psychologists, and the general public.

APA leadership has much work ahead to begin to repair the harm they
have caused to the profession, the country, former and current
detainees and their families. At a minimum the APA leadership should do
the following:

1. Fully
implement the 2008 referendum as an enforceable section of the APA Code
of Ethics. This entails a public announcement that APA policy and
ethical standards oppose the service of psychologists in detention
facilities at Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, Bagram Air Base, CIA
secret prisons, or in the rendition program.

2. Annul the June 2005 PENS Report due to the severe and multiple conflicts of interest involved in its production.

3. Bring
in an independent body of investigative attorneys to pursue
accountability for psychologists who participated in or otherwise
contributed to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. APA
should also: (a) clarify the status of open ethics cases and (b) remove
the statute of limitations for violations involving torture or cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment, so as to allow time for information on
classified activities to become public.

4.
Develop a clear and rapid timetable to remove Sections 1.02 and 1.03
[the "Nuremberg defense" of following orders] from the APA Code of
Ethics. [We note that the APA Ethics Committee has stated that they
will not accept a defense of following orders to complaints regarding
torture; this statement is a welcome improvement but it is clearly
inadequate as it is not necessarily binding on future committees nor
does it cover abuses falling under the category of cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment.] Revoke the equally problematic Section 8.05 of
the Code, which dispenses with informed consent "where otherwise
permitted by law or federal or institutional regulations," and Section
8.07, which sets an unacceptably high threshold of "severe emotional
distress" for not using deception in the ethics of research design.

5.
Retain an independent investigatory organization to study
organizational behavior at APA. Due to potential conflicts of interest,
independent human rights organizations should be enlisted to select
this investigatory entity. The study should address, among other
things, possible collusion in the PENS process and the 2003
APA-CIA-Rand conference on the Science of Deception, attended by the
CIA's apparent designers of their torture program [James Mitchell and
Bruce Jessen] during which "enhanced interrogation" techniques were
discussed. The study should explore how the APA governance system
permits the accumulation of power in the hands of a very small number
of individuals who are unresponsive to the general membership. It
should also propose measures to return the APA to democratic
principles, scientific integrity, and beneficence, including
restructuring for greater transparency and the assimilation of diverse
viewpoints.

These five steps will not remove the terrible stain on the
reputation of American psychology. However, by taking these steps the
APA leadership would make both symbolic and substantive progress toward
accountability for psychologists' contributions to detainee abuse and
the APA's failure to adequately respond to the public record. These
actions would constitute an important step toward rehabilitating the
Association and restoring the good name of the profession itself.

Signed by:

Coalition for an Ethical Psychology

Physicians for Human Rights

Psychologists for Social Responsibility

Center for Constitutional Rights

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Network of Spiritual Progressives

National Lawyers Guild

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