Over
the past decade, we have witnessed a significant shift in
hostage-takings by terrorist organizations and criminal groups that has
challenged
the ability of the U.S. Government to secure the safe recovery of U.S.
nationals taken captive. The wanton and brutal murder of several
Americans held hostage over the past year lays bare the magnitude of
this challenge. Other less publicized cases of Americans
held hostage overseas, including several who remain in captivity, are
no less tragic and have presented the U.S. Government with a similar set
of difficult choices. The Government’s response to hostage-takings
must therefore evolve to account for this new
reality. Moreover, the Government’s handling of these hostage cases –
and in particular its interaction and communication with families whose
loved ones have been taken hostage – must improve. To that end, in
December 2014 President Obama directed a comprehensive
review of U.S. policy toward overseas hostage-takings.
Based on the recommendations resulting from this review, the President approved Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 30,
U.S. Nationals Taken Hostage Abroad and Personnel Recovery Efforts
and issued an Executive Order on the recovery of U.S. hostages taken
abroad, which directs key organizational changes to ensure that the U.S.
Government is doing all that it can to safely
recover Americans taken hostage overseas and is being responsive to the
needs of their families. The key findings and recommendations set
forth by the review can be found in the
Report on U.S. Hostage Policy at the following
link. PPD-30 and the Executive Order can be found on WhiteHouse.gov.
Family Engagement
No
one has a greater stake in the response to the taking of a hostage than
the hostage and his or her family. The U.S. Government must earn each
family’s trust and confidence that it is doing everything possible to
safely recover their loved ones. This entails shifting from a focus on
providing social services to families to a new paradigm that emphasizes
continual collaboration between the Government
and families in the safe recovery of their loved ones. To this end,
the Government will collaborate more effectively with families by
proactively sharing more information, ensuring coordinated, consistent
interaction by professionals with specialized training,
and that any relevant background regarding the family’s particular
needs is always taken into consideration. Most importantly, the U.S.
Government will demonstrate to families with its actions that the safe
recovery of their loved ones is the Government’s
top priority in these cases. To complement these efforts, the
Department of Justice has issued a request for proposals for a grant
that would provide initial funding for non-governmental organizations
seeking to provide support services specifically tailored
to the needs of hostage families.
U.S. Policy
PPD-30
sets forth – in unclassified form – U.S. Government policy regarding
hostage-taking abroad. PPD-30 reaffirms the U.S. Government’s
dedication
to achieving the safe recovery of U.S. nationals taken hostage abroad.
It commits the Government to working in a coordinated manner and
utilizing all instruments of national power to safely recover hostages.
PPD-30 also recognizes that there may be valuable
sources of information outside the U.S. Government related to a hostage
case and affirms that the Government may work with private entities to
locate and recover Americans hostages, including entities that may
assist in gathering or establishing sources of
information. The policy also seeks to prevent hostage takings by
ensuring that travelers have appropriate warnings and security
information, pursuing financial sanctions against those connected to
hostage takings, and providing preventative training to U.S.
Government personnel serving abroad.
PPD-30
reaffirms our longstanding commitment to make no concessions to
individuals or groups holding U.S. nationals hostage. This policy
protects
U.S. nationals and strengthens national security by removing a key
incentive for hostage-takers to target U.S. nationals and by helping to
deny terrorists and other malicious actors the resources they need to
conduct attacks against the United States, its
nationals, its allies, and its interests.
PPD-30
also commits the United States Government to working closely with
families of hostages, in a coordinated manner, and to proactively share
as much information as possible with families. PPD-30 reaffirms the
“no concessions” policy, but makes clear for the first time that “no
concessions” does not mean “no communication.” The U.S. Government may
itself communicate with hostage-takers, their
intermediaries, interested governments, and local communities to
attempt to secure the safe recovery of the hostage. The U.S. Government
may also assist private efforts to communicate with hostage-takers to
secure the safe recovery of a hostage, whether directly
or through public or private intermediaries; these efforts will be
focused on ensuring the safety and security of a family to prevent them
from being defrauded or further victimized by a hostage-taker. In
short, we will not abandon families in their greatest
time of need.
In
this context, there has been concern expressed by families of hostages
about potential prosecutions of family members under the statute
prohibiting
the provision of material support to designated foreign terrorist
organizations. Consistent with the no-concessions policy, the U.S.
Government will focus on exploring all appropriate options to ensure the
safe recovery of their loved ones. The United States
Department of Justice does not intend to add to families’ pain in such
cases by suggesting that they could face criminal prosecution.
U.S. Government Organizational Changes
Hostage
situations require rapid, agile, coordinated responses from the U.S.
Government to develop recovery options, make decisions, and ensure all
instruments of national power are drawn upon in the recovery of
hostages. In recognition of this need for coordinated action, the
President directed the creation of several new government entities to
improve the government’s response, coordination, and accountability.
Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell:
The
Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell will serve as the single, permanent U.S.
Government interagency body responsible for coordinating the recovery of
U.S. hostages abroad. Staffed by top hostage recovery
professionals from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of
Defense, Department of State, Department of Justice, Department of the
Treasury, and the Intelligence Community, the Hostage Recovery Fusion
Cell will improve how the U.S. Government develops
hostage recovery plans, tracks developments in specific cases, shares
information with families, and provides information to Congress and the
media.
Hostage Response Group:
The
Hostage Response Group, a dedicated interagency policy body convened by
the National Security Council and with membership comprised of senior
officials from across the U.S. Government, will meet
on a weekly basis, and additionally as needed, to review and provide
guidance on hostage recovery strategies and ensure high-level support
for all hostage recovery and family support efforts.
Intelligence Community Issue Manager for Hostage Affairs:
A new Intelligence Community Issue Manager for Hostage
Affairs will provide improved management of hostage-related
intelligence, ensure tailored intelligence support to the Hostage
Recovery Fusion Cell, and enable the timely declassification of
intelligence to share with the families of U.S. hostages.
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs:
A
new Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs will coordinate the
Government’s diplomatic engagements on all U.S. hostage-related matters
and will personally engage at the highest levels of foreign
governments to secure the safe recovery of U.S. hostages.
Family Engagement Team:
A Family Engagement Coordinator
will be a permanent, senior position within the Hostage Recovery Fusion
Cell and with a seat in the Hostage Response Group. The Family
Engagement Coordinator will work closely with a dedicated Family
Engagement Team, which will include local and Washington,
D.C.-based representatives from the FBI Office of Victim Assistance and
the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs. The Family Engagement
Team will prioritize continual collaboration with the family in the
safe recovery of the hostage.
Assessing Impact and Ensuring Effective Implementation
In order to
ensure accountability for the implementation of these changes, the
President has directed that a status report on implementation of these
reforms will be provided after 6 months, and the National
Counterterrorism
Center will lead a comprehensive assessment on implementation of these
changes within one year of the date of the Executive Order. These
assessments will be informed by consultation with stakeholders outside
the government, including former hostages and the
families of U.S. nationals held captive overseas.
Source: The White House Press Office
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