New School Politics

Guantanamo Detainees Granted Justice

Zach | 21 07 2007

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Since its establishment as a prison for “enemy combatants,” Guantanamo Bay, the American military base in Cuba, has been protested and decried as one of the most alarming human rights breaches in recent times. Many of the prisoners, often kidnapped through the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition,” report gross violations in the rights guaranteed by the Geneva Convention. Despite being both a signatory of the Geneva Convention and an open enemy to torture, the United States refused to detail its activities at Guantanamo.

Human rights groups like Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch have attempted to stop the violations, but the US paid no heed to their concerns. While some may argue that Guantanamo is a necessary institution in this day and age, with the US being attacked by nameless and faceless enemies, none can argue that they’d like to see US troops treated the same way. It’s essential that we treat our enemies the way we’d like to be treated. Repetetively, terrorist groups have paraded dead American bodies through Middle Eastern countries, displaying the horrific things they have done to Americans. If we’re not setting an example for our enemies, we should set one for our friends . If the US is the model of decency for the world, we should treat our prisoners with the level of respect the world has come to expect from the most modern nation on the planet.

Today isn’t about the breaches of human rights, however. Instead, it’s about another degree of freedoms they’ve been granted. Bush, after being besieged by activists for years, has finally barred torture for CIA detainees. The agreement leaves some room for various other forms of interrogation, but it’s a first step.

Furthermore, the Justice Department has demanded that the executive branch turn over information regarding how they handle Guantanamo. This is all in an effort for better transparency between the branches of the federal government, and hopefully, it’ll make the government more accountable for the various abuses occurring at Guantanamo.

As the most advanced country in the world, it shouldn’t just be a minor objective of the US to be respectful of human rights. In a war that’s increasingly hard to follow, it’d be nice to able to have some consistency. And, in rocky times such as these, it’s important that the US to set an example for the rest of the world.