Brussels, 21/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - Ahead of the EU-US Summit in Vienna on 21 June, Amnesty International launched a further call for human rights infringements by the United States as part of its “war on terror” to be dealt with as a matter of priority.
Before the Summit, Amnesty called on the EU to demand full disclosure of the US renditions programme, to appeal for the closure of Guantanamo and for all other detention facilities run by the US government to be opened up to external scrutiny and brought into full compliance with international law. (A briefing paper is available at http://www.amnesty-eu.org )
“After more than four years, the EU finally seems ready to demand the closure of Guantanamo,” said Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty's EU Office. “It is a positive step but the EU cannot ignore other US detention centres and the complicity of its own Member States in the rendition programme that sent people to Guantanamo and elsewhere.” A press release says that in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US authorities continue to hold thousands of detainees who are denied justice and may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment. The recent deaths at Guantanamo, it goes on, have served as a tragic reminder that the regime of indefinite detention and harsh, isolating conditions are causing extreme despair at the detention camp. Amnesty considers that, given the involvement of Member States in renditions and “the obligations enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, the European Union has a responsibility to ensure that US authorities protect the welfare of the detainees.