The organisations Human
Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) have called on the President-elect
of the USA, Barack Obama, to close down Guantanamo camp.
Around 250 prisoners
On 11 January 2002, the USA brought 20 people
to Guantanamo base, which is on occupied Cuban terrritory.
It is estimated that around 250 people are imprisoned in Guantanamo bay today;
some of them were brought there as children.
Amnesty International has made a list of demands for
the President-elect, calling on him to prove his human rights record within the
first 100 days of office, starting on 20 January. The organisation demands that
Obama’s administration:
- announce a plan and date to close
Guantánamo;
- issue an executive order to ban
torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law;
- ensure that an independent
commission to investigate abuses committed by the US
government in its “war on terror” is set up.
HRW: Release or prosecute prisoners
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch
(HRW) is also holding Obama to his promise of closing down Guantanamo. The organisation calls for a
board that would decide which detainees to release or to prosecute in civil
federal courts. Those released need to protected from torture or human rights
violations in their own countries.
According to HRW, 17 Uygurs
are still being held in the camp, because the Bush administration ignored a
court decision calling for their settlement in the USA.
The organisation calls on Obama to reject any
proposals for “preventive detention systems”, as, just like Guantanamo Bay,
such systems allow people to be detained without proof of a criminal act.
(TK/AG)