Human Rights Council

Statement by Ambassador Warren W. Tichenor
Report of Special Rapporteurs on Guantanamo

Thursday, September 21, 2006
Afternoon Session

Thank you Mr. President.

At the outset, let me say that we share many of the same concerns as the five Special Rapporteurs about Guantanamo, in particular about its future.  The United States has no interest in being the world’s jailer.  In fact, President Bush and other senior officials have said on numerous occasions that they would like to see Guantanamo closed.  But we can only close Guantanamo if we can still protect ourselves and our allies from the threat posed by the dangerous men held there, while ensuring that transferred or released detainees are treated humanely. 

To that end, as President Bush recently explained, we have worked with members of the international community who are our partners in this struggle to address their concerns about Guantanamo and our detention policies.  We have appealed to other countries to work with us to transfer remaining detainees who are eligible as quickly as possible in order to reduce the population at Guantanamo. We are a nation of laws and will continue to work with the international community to construct a common foundation to defend our nations and protect our freedoms.

Since we think we need to work together to move forward, we were profoundly disappointed at the Special Rapporteurs’ approach, as reflected in the report presented today.  We regret that the Special Rapporteurs declined to accept our invitation to visit Guantanamo on comparable terms of reference as we extended to members of our own Congress as well as foreign officials, parliamentarians, representatives of other international organizations, and other visitors. 

Instead, they prepared a report that asserts, without real evidentiary support, conclusions they had clearly already reached. They made no effort to come to Washington to visit with the U.S. government officials directly involved in detainee issues.  There is little indication that they considered seriously the voluminous information provided in writing by the U.S. government.  By contrast, the Report treats second- and third-hand allegations from press reports and contacts with attorneys for the detainees as true. 

The report is also wrong on the law. It ignores the plain text and negotiating history of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which demonstrate that – contrary to the rapporteurs’ assertion – it does not apply outside the territory of a state party.  The report also refuses to acknowledge that the Guantanamo facility is established under and governed by the law of armed conflict, or international humanitarian law. 

My government has submitted a detailed rebuttal of the report, copies of which are available in the room, and which is available on my Mission’s website. 

May I also direct you to the report by the special representative of the President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Senator Anne-Marie Lizin, who did accept our invitation to Guantanamo.  Her report is a balanced and fair presentation of what is alleged and what she determined through her own investigations.  What she found was a detention center that fully protects the rights of the detainees, including by providing first-rate facilities and treatment and fully meeting their medical, nutrition, and religious needs.  Copies of Senator Lizin’s report are also available in the room and through our Mission’s website.

Finally, Mr. President, I want to highlight that our policies and practices have evolved significantly over time. These changes demonstrate the self-correcting mechanisms inherent in our system of checks and balances. For example, our Supreme Court recently ruled that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions applies to the conflict with Al Qaeda.  Consistent with that decision, as President Bush announced, we have submitted to Congress legislation that would provide for regularly constituted military commissions to try those detainees who we believe are responsible for serious war crimes. Moreover, the Department of Defense has recently issued a revised manual on interrogations that fully implements U.S. international and domestic legal obligations, including Common Article 3.