Released Guantánamo Detainees Are Still Being Denied Human Rights, U.N. Report Warns
The United Nations special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, recently conducted an investigation into human rights abuses at Guantánamo Bay. The report, which followed a historic visit to the detention center and interviews with detainees, victims of the 9/11 attacks, and human rights lawyers, highlights the issue of delayed justice for victims of terrorist attacks and ongoing injustice for victims of torture.
The report emphasizes the problem of indefinite detention at Guantánamo, stating that “arbitrariness pervades the entirety of the Guantánamo detention infrastructure.” This arbitrary detention not only exposes detainees to human rights abuses but also contributes to conditions that lead to further arbitrary detention. For those who cannot be repatriated, they are sent to a “third” country like Kazakhstan, where they continue to face arbitrary detention.
Ní Aoláin specifically highlights Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates as countries of “egregious” concern where former detainees have been sent. In Kazakhstan, former detainees effectively remain under house arrest and are unable to live a normal life due to secondary security measures. In the UAE, multiple former detainees have been subject to arbitrary detention and torture, with one still being held incommunicado.
The investigation also found that in 30 percent of documented cases, men released from Guantánamo in resettlement deals have not been given proper legal status by their host countries. This lack of asylum denies them access to public benefits, healthcare, education, foreign travel, and a path to citizenship – all fundamental entitlements under international human rights law.
One example highlighted in the report is Sabri al-Qurashi, a former Guantánamo prisoner who has been left without legal status since his relocation to Kazakhstan in 2014. Over the past decade, his treatment has worsened, and he has been unable to reunite with his family in Yemen. Muhammad Ali Husayn Khanayna, the only other former Guantánamo prisoner in Kazakhstan, has also come forward about his living conditions, stating that he has never been given documentation of residence, an ID, or his passport.
The U.N. report calls for the urgent addressing of the situation for men arbitrarily detained in Kazakhstan, the UAE, and any other country with serious human rights violations. Ní Aoláin argues that the U.S. government has a legal and moral obligation to facilitate their resettlement in a new host country.
However, a State Department representative stated that the U.S. government does not agree with this characterization and that it largely falls to the discretion of the host country to determine security measures for resettled detainees.
The report recommends establishing a formal and effective follow-up system for all resettlements and repatriations to ensure the remedial obligations owed by the U.S. government are fulfilled. This system could have provided assistance to detainees in Kazakhstan who experienced mistreatment as soon as they arrived in the country.
As the U.N. report highlights these ongoing human rights abuses, it is clear that more needs to be done to ensure justice and proper treatment for former Guantánamo detainees. The U.S. government must fulfill its obligations and work towards facilitating the resettlement of these men in countries where their rights will be protected. Only then can they begin to rebuild their lives and move beyond the injustices they have faced.