Washington ( CNN ) -- The White House confirmed Monday that it has received a letter from 12 Nobel Peace Laureates calling on the U.S. to disclose torture methods allegedly used by American forces following the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S. Bernadette Meehan , National Security Council Spokesperson , told CNN `` The President believes that the former rendition , detention , and interrogation program was inconsistent with our values as a nation and that public scrutiny , debate , and transparency will help to inform the public 's understanding of the program to ensure that such a program will never be used again . '' The letter , signed by Nobel Laureates including South Africa 's Archbishop Bishop Desmond Tutu , and John Hume who helped secure peace in Northern Ireland , calls on the administration to fully disclose , `` the extent and use of torture and rendition by American soldiers , operatives , and contractors , as well as the authorization of torture and rendition by American officials . '' The letter also calls for , `` Full verification of the closure and dismantling of 'black sites ' abroad . '' The group also asks for a clear plan from the administration to close the detention center at the U.S . Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . The Laureates are also asking for the administration to push for the release of a Senate Intelligence report `` that will allow the world to see ... the extent to which their government and its representatives authorized , ordered and inflicted torture on their fellow human beings . '' The letter notes that the Laureates have reason to feel strongly about torture , saying , `` Many of us among the Nobel Peace Prize laureates have seen firsthand the effects of the use of torture in our own countries . Some are torture survivors ourselves . Many have also been involved in the process of recovery , of helping to walk our countries and our regions out of the shadows of their own periods of conflict and abuse . '' `` It is with this experience that we stand firmly with those Americans who are asking the US to bring its use of torture into the light of day , and for the United States to take the necessary steps to emerge from this dark period of its history , never to return . '' The letter continues . `` Torture continues to haunt the waking hours of its victims long after the conflict has passed , so it will continue to haunt its perpetrators . '' Meehan points out that one of President Barack Obama 's first acts in office was to sign an executive order which brought an end to the program , which was started under the Bush administration . `` As directed in that Executive Order , individuals detained in any armed conflict shall in all circumstances and in accordance with our international legal obligations be treated humanely , and shall not be subjected to violence to life and person , nor to outrages upon personal dignity , whenever such individuals are in the custody or effective control of the United States , '' Meehan said . Meehan tells CNN that the administration has made clear that it believes the Senate Intelligence report on the former rendition and interrogation program should be declassified , but with `` appropriate redactions necessary to protect national security . '' Meehan also points out that the White House rarely responds to public inquiries about correspondence the President receives .
Twelve Nobel Peace Prize laureates wrote the White House on Monday . The letter called for administration disclosure on torture . Obama says he will not release any of those documents until after his term ends in January, and that includes a report by CIA Director Leon Panetta's office about its interrogation program.