The Guantanamo Bay Detention Center

The Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba has been operational since 2002. It is the only U.S. overseas base in a communist country. It has been run as a detention center for terrorists, and has acquired a notorious reputation for violating human rights. Former President George W Bush signed an executive order that allowed the U.S. military to detain any non-U.S. citizen indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism. About 775 detainees have been brought there, of which approximately 400 have been released without charge, leaving about 240 detainees as of June 2009. Their crimes range from chauffeuring Osama Bin Laden and celebrating attacks on the U.S, to masterminding the September 11th attacks and providing material support for other terrorist activities.

       Infamous for Torture

Horrifying stories about conditions within Guantánamo have emerged. The guilt of all its inmates is not confirmed, leaving a very real possibility of having innocent people brutally tortured to elicit confessions. Such tactics pose the risk of fuelling anti-American sentiments among militants, and soil the U.S.' reputation in the international community.

Detainees have ranged from children (the youngest being 14 years old) to inmates over 70 years old, and they are often shackled, blindfolded, and forced to defecate on themselves. They are also subject to psychological techniques that exploit their particular medical conditions, leaving them both physically and psychologically tortured. Sleep deprivation, drug injection, imposing stress positions, body cavity searches, sensory deprivations, and dogs have also been used. Inmates are also religiously humiliated, with Muslims' beards being shaved and the Qur'an being defiled and exposed to urine. In 2005, the U.S. military acknowledged that 23 prisoners tried to commit suicide during a mass protest in 2003. The military actually recorded only two of these cases. The CIA extraordinary rendition program has also transferred inmates to other countries for interrogation where torture techniques can be practiced more freely.

U.N. Action

       Obama Works to Close the Guantánamo Chapter in American History

In January 2009, President Obama signed an executive order to shut down the detention facility by January 2010 and to ban C.I.A. prisons. This was an admirable step toward addressing terrorism through legitimate and internationally acceptable means. However, the Senate passed an amendment to block funds to release prisoners from Guantánamo. In the face of such opposition within the U.S. Congress, Obama has considered taking steps such as allowing a small number of detainees to remain in the prison indefinetely, in order to get Congress to pass legislation that would close the prison soon.

The issue of where to release the inmates has caused much stir, and as other countries have opened their doors to help the U.S. on this front, forces in the U.S. itself have impeded the release of prisoners within the country. States that have agreed to admit inmates include Portugal, Spain, France, the Irish Republic, and Italy. The E.U. has issued a statement of support for accepting Guantánamo detainees, though the ultimate decision lies with member states.

The U.K. has taken in 14 detainees, and 4 Uighur detainees have been accepted by Bermuda- though the Chinese government is upset with the policy of releasing members of the Uighur community to a third party (the Uighurs are Muslims occupying North-Western China, where a strong separatist movement exists).

        Hard on Terror- The American Way

While understanding the need to put up a tough fight against terrorists, in order to maintain the U.S.' legitimacy in representing the free world and democratic values, the U.S. must not trash human rights in its pursuit of justice. As a party to the U.N. Convention Against Torture, the U.S. is in breach of the international treaty due its activities in Guantánamo Bay. The convention states: "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture."

President Obama has proceeded in the right direction, saying that the U.S. would continue to fight terror, but maintain American values while doing so: "We are going to do so vigilantly, we are going to do so effectively, and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals." He has expressed that closing the prison will be better for safety, and that the legality of such detention centers must be grounded. The B.B.C has. said that the U.S. military acts as jailer, judge and jury in Guantánamo. Even under U.S. domestic law, the treatment of Guantánamo detainees is grossly illegal. President Obama has also taken other steps, such as banning evidence obtained through torture. He has attempted to make the trial of such detainees more in line with standard fair trials.

Links:

White house link to the executive order to close Guantánamo

McClatchy article on Guantánamo

Report on Guantanamo by the Human Rights Center