Guantanamo: 20 years later, closure of prison still pending

Washington, D.C., October 28th, 2022. The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law – CEJIL addressed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) today in a public hearing held to monitor the current state of the precautionary measures granted to protect detainees held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. 

Guantánamo Bay detention camp opened in January 2002. Since then, it has held nearly 800 prisoners, all Muslim men and boys from around the world. In March 2002, the Inter-American Commission issued precautionary measures to protect the men detained at Guantánamo Bay. Since 2013, the IACHR has called for the immediate closure of Guantánamo due to the indefinite detention of the prisoners and allegations of abuse and mistreatment.  

At the hearing, the Center for Constitutional Rights and CEJIL emphasized that the United States’ non-compliance with these precautionary measures for more than 20 years is unacceptable. Today, 36 men remain at Guantánamo. Of these, 21 are cleared for transfer and Center for Constitutional Rights client Majid Khan must also be transferred because he has already completed his sentence. Legally, they could and should be transferred immediately, yet they remain in indefinite detention. While the Biden administration has made efforts, the pace of transfers has been too slow, and prison closure will not be achieved before the end of President Biden’s current term in office at the current rate, they said. 

Furthermore, the organizations alerted the IACHR that despite the Biden administration’s stated commitments to closing the Guantánamo prison and respecting the rule of law and human rights, the U.S. Department of Justice continues to fight in court to detain men approved for transfer by all of the relevant agencies – including the Department of Justice – and to deny them constitutional due process rights. The organizations maintain this makes no sense and, indeed, reflects policy incoherence and, ultimately, failure. In addition, continued use of military commissions directly hinders the prison’s closure, as it cannot be closed without resolving the military commissions, they argued.

During the hearing, representatives of the U.S. State Department confirmed their commitment to the closure of Guantánamo and underscored the current administration’s efforts to conduct a thorough review to reduce the detainee population. They informed the IACHR of the recent appointment of Ambassador Tina Kaidanow as the U.S. Department of State Senior Representative for Guantánamo Affairs and discussed government policy on transfers, detention review, humane treatment, military commissions, and due process.

As representatives of men detained at Guantánamo, CEJIL and the Center for Constitutional Rights urge the U.S. government to guarantee due process, end the use of military commissions, and close the Guantánamo detention center according to its international obligations. Further, the organizations requested that the Commission facilitate dialogue with OAS member states that are willing and able to accept men who are detained and require resettlement in a third country.

Following the hearing, Wells Dixon of the Center for Constitutional Rights said, “Today’s hearing underscored the urgent humanitarian need for strong U.S. allies to resettle individuals who no one thinks should continue to be held in a prison that everyone agrees should be closed.”

At the close of the hearing, Commissioner Stuardo Ralón invited the United States to create a plan for closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center, given that such a plan “does not exist” currently. Twenty years after the opening of the prison, and more than a year after the conclusion of the conflict in Afghanistan, a concrete plan and timeline for closure is urgent. 

The Center for Constitutional Rights has led the legal battle over Guantánamo for more than 20 years – representing clients in two Supreme Court cases and organizing and coordinating hundreds of pro bono lawyers across the country, ensuring that nearly all the men detained at Guantánamo have had the option of legal representation. Among other Guantánamo cases, the center represents the families of men who died at Guantánamo and men who have been released and are seeking justice in international courts.The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights on social media: Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, @theCCR on Twitter, and ccrjustice on Instagram.

The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) represents almost 28,000 victims and beneficiaries of protection measures, in more than 200 cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Inter-American Court of Human Rights). We are human rights defenders working to reduce inequality, discrimination, and violence. Every day, our litigation, advocacy, and communication strategies contribute to strengthening democracies, protecting and promoting rights, and fighting impunity in the Latin American region. Learn more at cejil.org. Follow CEJIL on social media: Center for Justice and International Law-CEJIL on Facebook, @CEJIL on Twitter, and cejiloficial on Instagram.