Is Guantanamo in conformity with the Geneva Conventions now?

A special DoD team lead by Adm. Walsh that was established by Obama’s Executive Order on Guantanamo Bay concluded after 13 days of investigation that the conditions of confinement in Guantánamo are in conformity with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Submissions of Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International “were carefully considered.”

The report addressed 27 categories of treatment, including health care and disciplinary rules. The report has some recommendations, but “we do not intend to suggest that these recommendations are items that the Department must pursue to satisfy Common Article 3.”

Check the “review Of Department Compliance With President’s Executive Order On Detainee Conditions Of Confinement (02/23/2009)” here. DoD News Briefing With Adm. Walsh From The Pentagon here. Commentary of Andy Worthington here.

Independent CCR Report: “Conditions of Confinement at Guantanamo: Still in Violation of the Law.”
At the same day the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) released a report on the current conditions in Camps 5, 6, and Echo which includes new eyewitness accounts from attorneys and detainees. The authors address continuing abusive conditions at the prison camp, including conditions of confinement that violate U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions, the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law.

“If President Obama is going to uphold the law and enforce his own Executive Order, he must close Camps 5, 6, and Echo and improve conditions immediately,” said CCR Executive Director Vincent Warren. “He should quickly remedy and end the Guantánamo created by his predecessor, not embrace a whitewash of it. I hope Attorney General Eric Holder has a freer hand to report the true conditions at the base from his visit there today than did Adm. Walsh, whose boss has overseen Guantánamo for the last two years.”

“The real question is, Is this administration going to expect us to view this as a closed issue?” said Tom Parker, advocacy director for terrorism, counterterrorism and human rights at Amnesty International. “If they are,” Mr. Parker added, “they’re going to be disappointed.”