§2000dd–0 Additional Prohibition on Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Summary

The United States government must not subject anyone it holds or controls to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. That protection covers people of any nationality and applies no matter where they are held. Those words mean the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment barred by the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments and described in the U.S. statements to the U.N. Convention Against Torture (New York, December 10, 1984). The President must take steps to make sure the government follows this rule, including creating rules and procedures.