fire in wire
the official blog of amnesty international at the university of nebraska-lincoln
Friday, February 17, 2006
UN Human Rights Commission issues report on Guantanamo
Yesterday, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights released a report calling for the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be closed. From the International Herald Tribune coverage:
The United States has rejected criticism of its practices at Guantanamo Bay. In response to the UNCHR's report and Secretary General Annan's remarks, the Sydney Morning Herald reports,
It should be noted that the five investigators from the UN Commission on Human Rights decided not to visit Guantanamo Bay, as their request for private interviews with detainees was denied.
Finally, the BBC has a Q&A on their website about the different legal process the United States military has undertaken to try the prisoners at Guantanamo. It's here: Q&A: Guantanamo Hearings
The report, by a team of five inspectors for the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, blasted the American government for a litany of abuses, and said that certain practices at the prison camp "must be assessed as amounting to torture." (story)United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan backed the reports findings. From another story in the IHT:
Annan told reporters Thursday he didn't necessarily agree with everything in the report, but ''the basic premise, that we need to be careful to have a balance between effective action against terrorism and individual liberties and civil rights, I think is valid.''
He said he supported the panel's opposition to people being held ''in perpetuity'' without being charged and prosecuted in a court where they had the opportunity to explain themselves. This is ''something that is common under every legal system,'' he said. (story)
The United States has rejected criticism of its practices at Guantanamo Bay. In response to the UNCHR's report and Secretary General Annan's remarks, the Sydney Morning Herald reports,
T(he) Bush Administration has dismissed as a "discredit to the United Nations" a Human Rights Commission report that calls for the immediate closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba.
..."It [the report] appears to be a rehash of some of the allegations that have been made by lawyers for some of the detainees, and we know that al-Qaeda detainees are trained in trying to disseminate false allegations," he said.
"I think it's a discredit to the UN when a team like this goes about rushing to report something when they haven't even looked into the facts." (story)
It should be noted that the five investigators from the UN Commission on Human Rights decided not to visit Guantanamo Bay, as their request for private interviews with detainees was denied.
Finally, the BBC has a Q&A on their website about the different legal process the United States military has undertaken to try the prisoners at Guantanamo. It's here: Q&A: Guantanamo Hearings
