OSCE Report on Guantanamo

Newsweek and other sources report that the President’s plan for closure of Guantanamo is expected to be released this week. Meanwhile, as previously reported here, on Tuesday the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights  released a new report on the human rights situation of Guantanamo detainees, calling again for the swift closure of the facility.  The report was prepared despite the US refusal to allow OSCE access to the camp.  Instead, researchers did their work through interviews with detainees’ lawyers, government officials, and former detainees.  The Wall Street Journal notes that the very existence of OSCE report lends credence to one of President Obama’s arguments for the facility’s closure, i.e., that Guantanamo harms the US’s international standing.  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, representing the Organization of American States, released its own report in August charging human rights violations and urging Guantanamo’s closure.

The OSCE monitors human rights throughout its 57 participating states, which include all 28 NATO members.  The OAS represents 35 member states.