Guantánamo: Message from India law professor

I am shocked to know the recent decision by President Donald Trump to send illegal immigrants to the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, which is terrifying; this is a potential violation of international law.

International law, particularly the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol guarantees individuals the right to seek asylum from persecution. Detaining asylum seekers in a military facility like Guantánamo Bay could impede their ability to access fair and timely asylum procedures. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) prohibits arbitrary detention. Holding migrants indefinitely without charge or proper legal proceedings at Guantánamo Bay may contravene this provision. The Guantánamo Bay detention camp has a history of allegations concerning the mistreatment and torture of detainees. Subjecting migrants to such conditions could violate international human rights standards, including the Convention Against Torture.

The use of Guantánamo Bay as a detention facility has long been a subject of international condemnation.

In 2006, the United Nations demanded the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, citing concerns over human rights violations. Amnesty International has even referred to the facility as the "gulag of our times," highlighting the severe conditions and lack of due process for detainees. 

European Union and Organization of American States: Both have protested the legal status and physical conditions of detainees at Guantánamo, emphasizing that the detention practices undermine international human rights standards.

I presume that by weaponizing immigration policy, the U.S. once again positions itself above international law, reinforcing its dominance while ignoring global outrage.  

In this context, the plan to detain migrants at Guantánamo Bay not only raises legal concerns but also revives longstanding criticisms about the facility's role in human rights violations. 

How can they term an immigrant as a criminal? No one wants to leave their home.

I am very much worried about these actions.

Best Regards,

Dr. Aruna Kammila 

Associate Professor

ICFAI Law School

IFHE

Hyderabad, India 

 

~ Dr. Kammila is on the Board of Directors of the Global Network. She has organized several conferences at her law schools about the need for space law that ensures that the Outer Space Treaty is followed which states that no individual, corporation or nation can claim control of any planetary body. They are the 'province of all humankind'.