For the first time in almost 20 years, the American prison of Guantanamo has been the subject of an inspection by independent experts mandated by the United Nations. The report denounces the treatment inflicted on the prisoners.
Made infamous after the attacks of September 11, the prison of Guantanamo finds itself singled out by the UN. This piece of Cuban land managed by the United States still escapes the rules of the American prison system and international law. This is a camp where were – and still are – detained terrorists suspected of being linked to Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
In 2005, the last inspection of Camp Delta led Belgian senator Anne-Marie Lizin to conclude that the conditions of detention of the detainees were ” better than in Belgium.“For the first time in almost 20 years, the site was inspected by independent experts mandated by the United Nations in February. The report this time is more severe and a little more in line with the idea we have of these 21st century dungeons.
Forced cell extractions, extreme confinements…
What is inflicted on these people labeled as ” illegal combatants” holds in three words: “cruel, inhuman, degrading“. As if to evacuate any criticism, the special rapporteur of this visit wishes to specify that in her view the attacks of September 11 are “a crime against humanity“. In parallel, the torture used in Guantanamo is a “treason“, she says, for the rights of the victims of these attacks.
Almost permanent surveillance, forced extractions from cells, excessive use of means of restraint or extreme confinements constitute the daily life of prisoners. In the long term, all of this turns into disabilities and chronic pain, injuries leading to brain damage and major digestive problems.
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If you have to look for a single positive point in this report, it is that it notices ” significant improvements” on the detention center itself. The rapporteur is referring here to the few coats of paint and the renovation of the buildings.
The Biden administration defends itself
American officials are falling from their chairs, or at least pretending to. If they agreed to open the doors of Guantanamo it is, they say, because they were “confident“. They even claim to have given the special rapporteur unprecedented access, closer to the reality of the 30 prisoners still present.
The United States thus finds itself with a new spotlight on a camp which was, it must be recognized, a little off the radar screens. At a time when Joe Biden criticizes torture in Syria, Russia, North Korea; while Washington wanted to show its good will towards the institutions which investigate the respect of human rights, the operation is aborted. Guantanamo was a thorn in the side of this administration. There is now a pistol bullet that she fired herself.