This semester, Columbia's branch of Amnesty International has chosen the closing of Guantánamo Bay as its focus campaign.

On January 11, 2002, the United States established its prison camp for suspects in the "war on terror." The camp, which encompasses a portion of the United States Navy's base at Guantánamo Bay, situated in the southeastern region of Cuba, functions as a joint military prison and interrogation site. The detention sites include three camps: Camp Delta, including Camp Echo; Camp Iguana; and the now defunct Camp X-Ray. The prison contains individuals who were taken into custody in Afghanistan, Bosnia, the Gambia, and other nations, and who are suspected by the U.S. government of being involved with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

To stress its objections to the Guantánamo Bay detention facilities, Amnesty International has published the following facts: about 775 individuals have been detained at this U.S. naval base and, regardless of extensive worldwide disapproval, hundreds of people representing around 35 nationalities are still incarcerated without charge. As many as 17 of those detainees were less than 18 years old when they were arrested, and four of them were still detained at the end of 2006. Furthermore, 14 prisoners were relocated to Guantánamo in September 2006 after they had been held incommunicado for over four years in covert CIA custody. Amnesty International is unwilling to tolerate such irresponsible treatment of these individuals, who have not had access to a fair trial.

The human-rights organization is also campaigning for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention facilities because the detainees in the military base are presumed guilty of being enemy combatants. Many of the prisoners have not been found guilty of any criminal charge, and hundreds of them have been discharged from the camp without charge or any type of compensation for the several years they were illegitimately held at Guantánamo. The treatment of these detainees, who have not had access to a fair trial, violates the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which stipulates that "the accused" have "access to a speedy and public trial." However, the US authorities continue to designate those detained as "terrorists" or "the worst of the worst," ignoring their right to be presumed innocent and denying them many of their most fundamental human rights. None of the Guantánamo detainees have been awarded prisoner-of-war status or brought before a "competent tribunal" to establish that status, a procedure stipulated by international law under Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention. The US government will not explain their legal status, instead calling them "enemy combatants" and "alien and unlawful." Amnesty International therefore considers Guantánamo Bay to be an emblem of unfairness on the grounds of both US and international law and is calling for its closure.

Guantánamo Bay is a symbol of injustice and abuse and it must be closed down. Enough is enough!

**This Friday, April 9th---The Columbia Chapter of Amnesty International will be having an event to create awareness about human rights. The focus will be Guantanamo Bay and torture. The event, called "Jamnesty" will be performances by musical groups/spoken word artists/etc. The event starts at 7:30 in the Auditorium of Earl Hall. There will be a $2 donation. Come out and relax for a good cause!