Pressure Mounts to Close Gitmo

From the Financial Times:

While Americans are celebrating Independence Day with barbecues, parliamentarians from 55 states meeting in Washington on Monday will debate the US human rights record and hear a recommendation that the Bush administration close its Guantánamo detention centre.

The annual parliamentary assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is tackling a wide range of issues, may be of little direct political consequence. But delegates say the human rights debate does carry a certain moral weight, and reflects growing concern over what many regard as breaches by the Bush administration of US and international law in its handling of detainees in the “war on terror”.

The focus on Guantánamo, as well as US procedures to hand over suspected terrorists to governments with a record of torture, also has an historic resonance. The assembly, including the US as a founder member of the OSCE, is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, which set out to secure commitments by the former Soviet Union to common standards of human rights.

Anne-Marie Lizin, president of the Belgian Senate, presents her report on Monday on Guantánamo in her capacity as a human rights rapporteur. US authorities denied her access to the detention centre. The UN special rapporteur on terrorism, Manfred Nowak, has also been refused entry to the camp. Mr Nowak caused a storm in Washington last week by raising what he called “very, very serious” allegations over the use of US prison ships. The Bush administration denied their existence.