_rdax_300x200.jpg)
October 6, 2014
Last week, the International Human Rights Law Clinic submitted a shadow report to the UN Committee Against Torture regarding the effects of US detention on detainees released from Guantanamo Bay. The Committee is holding hearings next month in Geneva to review US compliance with the treaty.
Filed jointly with the law school’s Human Rights Center and the Center for Constitutional Rights, the shadow report, entitled The United States’ Compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Torture with Respect to Guantánamo Bay Detainees and the Cumulative Impact of Confinement, the Abuse of Detainees Post Release, and the Right to Redress, presents empirical data drawn from a 2008 study conducted by the reporting organizations regarding the treatment and effects of detention on former Guantánamo Bay detainees.
The shadow report documents the cumulative effect of indefinite detention and abuse experienced by some Guantánamo detainees and argues that this constitutes torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The report also provides data about the economic, psychological, physical, and social harm former detainees suffer as a result of their detention.
The report recommends that the US government establish a comprehensive reintegration program for former detainees as well as a fair and adequate procedure to compensate former detainees for torture and ill-treatment.
The IHRLC student team of Shanita Farris ’16 and Bina Patel ’16 will travel to Geneva in November to attend the hearing and present the report.