Guantanamo: consequences of a juridical black hole

Résumé du document

Guantanamo: the consonance sounds sweet, but the word rimes with a much darker reality. Here is one of the burning issues Obama will have to tackle quickly in order to keep his current aura alive. Located in the South East Cuba, the Guantanamo detention camp is a perpetually polemic subject, strongly affecting the image of the US all around the world. The camp of Guantanamo Bay existed before 9/11 attacks, but Bush Jr's War on terror led to the conversion of the naval basis into a high secured detention camp, which hosted about 800 detainees between 2001 and 2008. The camp is subject to different scandals, notably concerning suicides and torture practices since its opening. The United States of America has invited the disapproval of the whole international community, which denounces the abuses committed in the camp. Thus, whereas this camp appeared as a solution to the Americans in order to improve their data base on the struggle against terrorist movements, it appears today as a burden. Bush talked about closing the camp in 2006, and Obama renewed this promise in November, 2008.

Extraits

[...] Finally Obama promised during his campaign to close Guantanamo as soon as he'll be president. He promised to judge those who are convicted of terrorist acts, and to free the others. However, the problem won't be solved so easily. A new question is rising. What would be the sort of the freed prisoners? They can't be sent back to their homeland, otherwise there is a risk to see them getting enrolled in terrorism (because of the hate built up in Guantanamo), or to be persecuted (suspected to be traitors). [...]

[...] One of the solutions may come from the European Union, as several countries purposed to receive them. In fine, the consequences of Guantanamo Bay seem to be far more problematic than the solutions it brought. Indeed, on the 800 prisoners, only twenty were judged and convinced of war crimes. [...]

[...] Guantanamo: consequences of a juridical black hole Table of contents Guantanamo : a negation of the international right 3 Detainees rights 3 a. Prisoners status and Prisoners of War (POW) rights 3 b. The status of Illegal fighters 3 Detention and lawfulness 4 a. The denial of prisoners status 4 b. A conscious resort to illegal methods 4 Guantanamo : a breakpoint in the established order 5 The Symbol of the American failure in War on terror 5 a. Isolation of the USA and mobilisation of the International community 5 b. [...]

[...] Then the treaty has to evolve. It was submitted to a first evolution in 1977, but 9/11 brought new problematic: terrorist organisation with armed troops, international or transnational recruitment networks, diffuse aims and capability to lead mass destruction attacks. The main issue is to define what a terrorist is, as there isn't any typical terrorist. That's why it seems hard to put all the terrorists under a same law. Indeed, there is very little comparison to do between for example Al Qaeda, Hamas and the Ku Klux Klan; nevertheless, they are all considered equally as terrorist organisations according to the US files. [...]

[...] Indeed, the International Community has no means of pressure on the USA, as they stand at the Security Council. Therefore Geneva Convention has to be strongly affirmed, in order to prevent the possibilities of transgression provided by a hegemonic situation, such as the one USA are occupying nowadays. International Law as to be harsher with its transgressions and it has to really bind states together. That obviously not the case, as the American is purchasing in policy in Guantanamo despite the other state's condemnations, punctually promising to close it. [...]