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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: U.S. Rejects U.N. Report on Gitmo 1 hour, 5 minutes ago The United States should shut down the prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay and either release the detainees or put them on trial, the United Nations said in a report released Thursday. The world body also called on the United States to refrain from practices that "amount to torture." The White House rejected the recommendation to shut the prison. "These are dangerous terrorists that we're talking about that are there," spokesman Scott McClellan said. McClellan dismissed the report as a "rehash" of allegations previously made by lawyers for some detainees and said the military treats all prisoners humanely. "We know that al-Qaida terrorists are trained in trying to disseminate false allegations," McClellan said. The report, summarizing an investigation by five U.N. experts who did not visit Guantanamo, said photographic evidence and testimony of former prisoners showed that detainees were shackled, chained, hooded and beaten if they resisted. Some interrogation techniques — particularly the use of dogs, exposure to extreme temperatures, sleep deprivation for several consecutive days and prolonged isolation — caused extreme suffering, the report said. "Such treatment amounts to torture," it said, urging the United States "to refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." It also said Guantanamo's military commissions are under the ultimate authority of the White House and that detainees should have trials. "The persons held at Guantanamo Bay are entitled to challenge the legality of their detention before a judicial body," the report concluded. "This right is currently being violated." The report's findings were based on interviews with former detainees, public documents, media reports, lawyers and a questionnaire filled out by the U.S. government. The United States is holding about 500 men at the U.S. naval base on the southeastern tip of Cuba. The detainees are accused of having links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime or al-Qaida, though only 10 have been charged since the detention camp opened in January 2001. In a response included at the end of the report, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. offices in Geneva said investigators had taken little account of evidence against the abuse allegations provided by the United States and had rejected an invitation to visit Guantanamo. "It is particularly unfortunate that the special rapporteurs rejected the invitation and that their unedited report does not reflect the direct, personal knowledge that this visit would have provided," ambassador Kevin Moley wrote. Although Moley's statement did not address specific allegations, the Pentagon has acknowledged 10 cases of abuse since the detentions began at Guantanamo, including a female interrogator climbing onto a detainee's lap and a detainee whose knees were bruised from being forced to kneel repeatedly. Human rights activists supported the investigators' findings. "Instead of disparaging these respected monitors, the United States should listen to what the world is saying," Reed Brody, a lawyer with Human Rights Watch in New York, told The Associated Press. "The United States must release detainees it has no authority to hold, provide trials to detainees believed to have committed crimes, and prosecute those involved in the torture and mistreatment of captives." The five U.N. experts had sought invitations from the United States to visit Guantanamo since 2002. Three were invited last year, but refused to go in November after being told they could not interview detainees. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been allowed to visit Guantanamo detainees, but the organization keeps its findings confidential, reporting them solely to U.S. authorities. Some reports have been leaked by what the organization calls third parties. The report also concluded that the particular status of Guantanamo Bay under the international lease agreement between the United States and Cuba did not limit Washington's obligations under international human rights law toward those detained there. Many of the allegations have been made before, but the document represented the first inquiry launched by the 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission, the world body's top rights watchdog. The five investigators — from Argentina, Austria, New Zealand, Algeria and Pakistan — were appointed by the commission to the three-year project. They worked independently and received no payment, though the U.N. covered expenses. The United States, which is a member of the commission, has criticized the body itself for including members with poor human rights records. ___ Associated Press reporter Alexander G. Higgins contributed to this report.
Poster Comment: And this is what they're rejecting.. reveals a lot doesnt it? The US government condones torture. Slate release ALL the photos from Abu Ghraib!: Yahoo! News UN alleges torture at Guantanamo By Richard Waddington1 hour, 32 minutes ago The United States on Thursday faced mounting international calls to close its Guantanamo prison, with U.N. investigators saying detainees there faced treatment amounting to torture. In a 40-page report, which had already been largely leaked, five United Nations special envoys said the United States was violating a host of human rights, including a ban on torture, arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial. The findings could fuel anger among Arabs already incensed by images of abuse of Iraqi inmates at Baghdad's U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison newly broadcast by Australian TV. "The United States government should close the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities without further delay," the human rights rapporteurs declared. Until that happened, the U.S. government should "refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," they added. The White House, calling the Guantanamo detainees "dangerous terrorists," dismissed the report as a reworking of past allegations and said that inmates were humanely treated. It "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," said spokesman Scott McClellan. He also indicated that the calls to close the jail would fall on deaf ears. "These are dangerous terrorists that we're talking about that are there and I think we've talked about that issue before and nothing's changed in terms of our views," McClellan added. HARSH TREATMENT Harsh treatment, such as placing detainees in solitary confinement, stripping them naked, subjecting them to severe temperatures, and threatening them with dogs could amount to torture, which is banned in all circumstances, the report said. "The excessive violence used in many cases during transportation ... and forced-feeding of detainees on hunger strike must be assessed as amounting to torture," it added. The five investigators said they were particularly concerned by attempts by the U.S. administration to "redefine" the nature of torture to allow certain interrogation techniques. In London, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour told the BBC she saw no alternative to closing the prison at the U.S. naval base in Cuba where some 500 terrorism suspects are held. Many have been there for four years without trial. Speaking ahead of the release of the report, Arbour said that, although she did not endorse every recommendation it made, the United States should put inmates on trial or release them and shut down the prison. Washington, which denies any international laws are being broken, accused the U.N. investigators of acting like prosecution lawyers. "It selectively includes only those factual assertions needed to support those conclusions and ignores other facts that would undermine those conclusions," U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Kevin E. Moley, said in a letter to Arbour included as an annex to the rapporteurs' conclusions. Washington also denies that the force-feeding of inmates on hunger strike, which was undertaken to save their lives, amounted to cruel treatment. The five U.N. investigators, who include Manfred Nowak, special rapporteur on torture, and Leila Zerrougui, chairperson of the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, said the findings were based on interviews with past detainees, lawyers and replies to questions put to the U.S. government. The five turned down a U.S. offer to visit the detention center late last year because Washington would not allow them to interview individual detainees. Adding to pressure on Washington, the European Parliament was expected to back a call later on Thursday for Guantanamo to be closed and all prisoners to be treated in full accordance with international humanitarian law. The resolution, which reaffirms a commitment to fighting terrorism, is backed by all major political groups in the European legislature. It is non-binding and does not oblige the 25 European Union member states to take any action.
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