PSYCHOLOGISTS FOR AN ETHICAL APA

Why should you join the protests against the American  Psychological Association?

A recently declassified August 2006 Department of Defense report confirms that psychologists were directly responsible for the development and use of techniques defined by the International Red Cross as “tantamount to torture.” These techniques continue to be employed against enemy combatants in Guantanamo and other military and CIA run facilities.

The current APA Ethics Code (Ethical Standards Section 1.02) allows psychologists to violate its principles, including that of  “do no harm,” in order to “follow orders.” Such a loophole in the ethics code permits unethical behavior, including torture, if orders so require. The APA Council of Representatives has requested that our ethics code be changed to ensure that any exceptions to the standard code are “in accordance with basic human rights.” No changes have been made.

The American Medical Association, The World  Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association have declared that there is no legitimate role for their members to consult in individual interrogations in unlawful detention sites such as Guantanamo. Yet the American Psychological Association condones the use of its members acting as consultants to coercive interrogations in Guantanamo and other detention centers, despite the fact that these camps hold detainees indefinitely without charges and deny them due process in clear violation of the Geneva Convention. In this way the American Psychological Association gives credibility to unacceptable detention and interrogation practices, and undermines the integrity of American psychologists throughout the world.

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