In a historic development, the United Nations’ first independent investigator, Irish law professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, visited the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and revealed that the 30 men held there continue to suffer from ongoing cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, which violates international law.
Ní Aoláin presented her comprehensive 23-page report to the UN Human Rights Council, stressing that while the 2001 attacks were crimes against humanity, the subsequent use of torture and rendition by the United States against alleged perpetrators and their associates constituted a serious breach of international human rights law, according to the Associated Press. This not only violated the detainees’ rights but also hindered the pursuit of justice since information obtained through torture is inadmissible in trials.
The visit of Ní Aoláin to Guantanamo Bay marked the first time a US administration allowed a UN investigator to examine the facility since its establishment in 2002. Commending this as a positive step in addressing challenging human rights issues, the professor called on other countries that restrict UN access to detention facilities to follow suit. During her visit, she had unrestricted access to the detention center, including meetings with both “high-value” and “non-high value” detainees.
In response to the report, the United States submitted a statement to the Human Rights Council, clarifying that the investigator’s findings were her own and expressing significant disagreement with many of her factual and legal assertions.
While acknowledging some improvements in the confinement of detainees, Ní Aoláin voiced serious concerns about the ongoing detention of the 30 men, highlighting their extreme insecurity, suffering, and anxiety. She provided examples of constant surveillance, forced removal from cells, and unjust use of restraints as evidence of their mistreatment. Many detainees she encountered exhibited severe psychological distress, including anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness, stress, depression, and dependency.
The professor expressed deep concern about the inadequate torture rehabilitation programs provided by the US government for the detainees. She criticized the existing specialist care and facilities at Guantanamo, considering them insufficient to address the complex and urgent mental and physical health issues faced by the detainees, such as permanent disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, chronic pain, gastrointestinal and urinary problems. Additionally, she shed light on the lack of support from families and communities, the prolonged detention without trial or charges, hunger strikes, force-feeding, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and premature aging experienced by the detainees.
Ní Aoláin repeatedly emphasized her grave concern that 19 of the 30 men still held at Guantanamo have never been charged with any crime, despite spending two decades in US custody. She argued that their continued detention stemmed from authorities’ unwillingness to face the consequences of torture and ill-treatment rather than any ongoing threat posed by the detainees. The professor underscored that the use of information obtained through torture in trials is prohibited, highlighting the United States’ commitment to refraining from such practices.
Furthermore, Ní Aoláin identified significant deficiencies in fundamental fair trial and due process within the military commission system. She expressed concern about the extensive secrecy surrounding judicial and administrative proceedings and concluded that the United States had failed to meet its obligations in this regard.
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