<html><head></head><body><div class="ydp640e37d4yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"> <div class="ydp109501e2pasted-link" style=""><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><font style="" size="2"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Below please find a recent </span><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">statement from the <i>Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology</i> (Division 48 of the American Psychological Association). </span></font></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><font style="background-color: inherit;" size="2"><br></font></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><font style="background-color: inherit;" size="2">The statement calls upon the APA to (1) apologize to the victims of U.S. war-on-terror prisoner abuses, and (2) make recurring financial contributions to organizations that provide support for torture survivors and their families.</font></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954pasted-link" style=""><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><div dir="ltr" style=""><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font size="2"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font size="2">The full statement is pasted below and is available online here: <a href="https://www.ethicalpsychology.org/materials/Two-Steps-the-American-Psychological-Association-Should-Take-Today.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.ethicalpsychology.org/materials/Two-Steps-the-American-Psychological-Association-Should-Take-Today.pdf</a>.</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font size="2"> </font></p><div dir="ltr" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font size="2">Several organizations have endorsed the statement. For more information, please contact Roy J. Eidelson.</font></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font size="2"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><div style=""><div style=""><font size="2"><b>Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu</b> @DirenenSerdar</font></div><div style=""><font size="2"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr" style=""><div dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(32, 33, 36);"><div dir="ltr" style=""><font size="2">Visiting Scholar, Goethe University Frankfurt a.M. (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a.M.)</font></div><div dir="ltr">______________________________________________</div></div></div></div><br></div><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></b></p><p align="center" class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></b></p><p align="center" class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><b style="font-size: 14px;">Two Steps the American Psychological Association Should Take Today</b></font></p><p align="center" class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><b> </b></font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">June 26, 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims.[1] In recognition of this somber milestone, the Executive Committee of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Division 48) calls upon the American Psychological Association (APA) to take long-delayed action in support of the direct victims of U.S. war-on-terror abuses and torture. </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">Over a period of years, predominantly Muslim and Arab men and boys imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, CIA black sites, and other locations were subjected to physical and psychological torment and degradation.[2] For many of these individuals, the adverse consequences of their mistreatment are grave and potentially irreversible. </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">Back in 2015, the APA’s leadership appropriately apologized to its membership and to psychologists worldwide for the Association’s failures to adequately defend the profession’s fundamental ethical principles.[3] However, to date no similar apology has been offered to the prisoners grievously harmed by U.S. detention and interrogation operations. These operations relied significantly on the involvement of psychologists.[4] That involvement was tragically preserved and promoted, in part, by the APA’s own misguided actions and inaction.[5]</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">Now more than 20 years after the first war-on-terror prisoners were taken into U.S. custody, an apology from the APA to these victims and their families is long overdue. At a time of heightened international turmoil and conflict, this belated apology is consistent with the Association’s recent centering of its commitment to protecting and advancing human rights.[6]</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">But the APA should also do more. Programs that provide assistance to torture victims and their families are always in need of greater funding. The Association, an accredited nongovernmental organization at the United Nations, has the resources to make regular donations to organizations that provide support to torture survivors. As examples, both the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims direct financial support to civil society groups worldwide for this purpose.[7]</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">Both of these actions—a public apology and recurring financial contributions—are ideal ways to honor the upcoming United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Moreover, these ameliorative steps to redress past failures would represent a model for other prestigious organizations that have similarly fallen short in honoring their humanitarian missions.</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><br clear="all"></font></p><div class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><hr size="1" width="33%" align="left"></font></div><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[1] For more information about the day and its history, see <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/torture-victims-day" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.un.org/en/observances/torture-victims-day</a></font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[2] See, for example, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, <i>Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody</i>, 2008, <a href="https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Detainee-Report-Final_April-22-2009.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Detainee-Report-Final_April-22-2009.pdf</a>; United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,<i> Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program, </i>2014,<a href="https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf</a>; and Physicians for Human Rights, <i>Broken Laws, Broken Lives: Medical Evidence of Torture by U.S. Personnel and Its Impact, </i>June 2008, <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/BrokenLaws_14.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/BrokenLaws_14.pdf</a></font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[3] “Letter to APA Membership from Susan H. McDaniel and Nadine J. Kaslow,” news release, American Psychological Association, July 24, 2015, <a href="https://www.apa.org/independent-review/letter-members-apology.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.apa.org/independent-review/letter-members-apology.pdf</a>; “Letter from Nadine J. Kaslow and Susan J. McDaniel to Psychology Colleagues in the International Community on Behalf of the Board and Members of APA,” news release, American Psychological Association, 2015, <a href="https://www.apa.org/independent-review/international-letter.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.apa.org/independent-review/international-letter.pdf</a></font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[4] See, for example, Institute on Medicine as a Profession, <i>Ethics Abandoned: Medical Professionalism and Detainee Abuse in the War on Terror</i> (New York: The Institute, 2013); Constitution Project<b>, </b><i>The Report of The Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment</i>, 2013, <a href="https://detaineetaskforce.org/pdf/Chapter-6_Role-of-Medical-Professionals.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://detaineetaskforce.org/pdf/Chapter-6_Role-of-Medical-Professionals.pdf</a>.</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[5] <span style="color: rgb(26, 23, 24);">David H. Hoffman, Danielle J. Carter, Cara R. Viglucci Lopez, Heather L. Benzmiller, Ava X. Guo, S. Yasir Latifi, and Daniel C. Craig, </span><i>Report to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association: Independent Review Relating to APA Ethics Guidelines, National Security Interrogations, and Torture (Revised) </i>(Chicago, IL: Sidley Austin LLP, September 4, 2015), <a href="https://www.apa.org/independent-review/revised-report.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.apa.org/independent-review/revised-report.pdf</a></font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[6] See, for example, the Association’s 2021 resolution on “APA, Psychology, and Human Rights” (<a href="https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-psychology-human-rights.pdf)" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-psychology-human-rights.pdf)</a> and its Strategic Plan adopted in 2019 (<a href="https://www.apa.org/about/apa/strategic-plan/impact-apa-strategic-plan.pdf)" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.apa.org/about/apa/strategic-plan/impact-apa-strategic-plan.pdf)</a>.</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">[7] For more information , see <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/about-us/funding-and-budget/trust-funds/united-nations-voluntary-fund-victims-torture" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.ohchr.org/en/about-us/funding-and-budget/trust-funds/united-nations-voluntary-fund-victims-torture</a> and <a href="https://www.irct.org/" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.irct.org</a>. Another smaller non-profit organization, Healing and Recovery After Trauma, oversees the Tea Project, a fund specifically for Guantanamo torture survivors (<a href="http://www.tea-project.org/fund-for-guantanamo-torture-survivors" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.tea-project.org/fund-for-guantanamo-torture-survivors</a>).</font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"> </font></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br></p><p class="ydp109501e2yiv1295384775ydp9200954MsoNormal" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><br></font></p></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><br clear="all"></font><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">Roy J. Eidelson, Ph.D.</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://royeidelson.com/" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.royeidelson.com</a><br></font><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">Member, Coalition for an Ethical Psychology</font></div><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.ethicalpsychology.org/" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ethicalpsychology.org</a><br>Past President, Psychologists for Social Responsibility<br><a href="http://www.psysr.org/" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.psysr.org</a><br>610-513-8685</font></div><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px;">twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/royeidelson" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); text-decoration-line: underline;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@royeidelson</a></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></body></html>