UN Special Rapporteur Visits United States and Guantánamo Bay

From February 6-14, 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism will be visiting Washington D.C. and subsequently the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The current Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms is Ms. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, who has held the position since August 2017. She is is concurrently Regents Professor and Robina Professor of Law, Public Policy and Society at the University of Minnesota Law School and Professor of Law at the Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her mandate covers all countries and has most recently been renewed by Human Rights Council resolution 49/10.

Over the course of the subsequent three-month period, the Special Rapporteur will also carry out a series of interviews with individuals in the United States and abroad, on a voluntary basis, including victims and families of victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and former detainees in countries of resettlement/repatriation. She will issue an end-of-mission statement of findings and recommendations following the end of the technical visit.