UN says U.S. prison at Guantanamo is cruel, inhuman and degrading

United Nations, Jun 27 (RHC) A United Nations evaluation of the U.S. military prison in the illegally occupied territory in the Cuban province of Guantanamo, determined Monday that its closure is a priority due to the injustices committed in those facilities.

The Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, met some of the prisoners during a visit to the site and found that all of them live with constant damage as a result of systematic practices of torture and arbitrary detention.

The Rapporteur explained in a statement that "for many, the line between the past and the present is extremely thin, and past experiences of torture live on in the present, with no obvious end in sight."

The official also expressed grave concerns about the continued imprisonment of 30 men and the systematic arbitrariness that characterizes their daily lives, which brings "insecurity, suffering and anxiety to all, without exception".

Ní Aoláin estimated that, notwithstanding the seriousness and nature of the current physical and psychological damage to many detainees, the infrastructure involves almost constant surveillance, forced extractions from cells, improper use of restraints, and other operational procedures that violate respect for human rights.

In addition to other transgressions of fundamental guarantees, he cited deficiencies in health care, inadequate access to family, and arbitrary detention characterized by constant violations of fair trials.

For this reason, Ní Aoláin declared that it is a priority "to close this facility".

The Rapporteur also met with repatriated and resettled prisoners, after which she noted serious deficiencies in the provision of the essential means that ex-refugees need to live, including legal identity, medical care, education, housing, family reunification, and freedom of movement.

These issues contravene U.S. obligations under international law undertaken before, during, and after the transfer of the detainees.

The Special Rapporteur called on the U.S. government to ensure accountability for all violations of international law.

Ní Aoláin's visit was the first official visit to Guantánamo by a UN expert to the site, which was set up as a torture center as part of the so-called war on terrorism waged by the United States after the attack on the territory in 2001.

Twenty-one years after former President George W. Bush (2001-2009) opened the prison, and 13 years after the signing of an order for its dismantling by former President Barack Obama (2009-2017), there are still about thirty prisoners there. (Source: Prensa Latina).