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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Brenda Bowser Soder
202-370-3323,
bowsersoderb@humanrightsfirst.org

Human Rights First Responds to Possible Relocation of Uighers to Palau

As the Obama Administration considers relocating Uighers currently
awaiting release from the Guantanamo detention facility to the North
Pacific island of Palau, Human Rights First Chief Executive Officer
Elisa Massimino issued the following statement:

WASHINGTON

As the Obama Administration considers relocating Uighers currently
awaiting release from the Guantanamo detention facility to the North
Pacific island of Palau, Human Rights First Chief Executive Officer
Elisa Massimino issued the following statement:

"We welcome the Obama Administration's efforts to empty the
Guantanamo prison facility. It is unfortunate that some in Congress
have sought to obstruct these efforts. Ultimately, any comprehensive
plan to do so will require the resettlement of some detainees who, like
the Uighers, are not a security threat but cannot return to their home
countries. Especially if we expect our allies to take in detainees, the
United States will need to exercise leadership and heed the words of
General Petraeus who, with respect to the closure of Guantanamo, has
urged Americans not to be 'afraid to live our values.'"

Human Rights First is a non-profit, nonpartisan international human rights organization based in New York and Washington D.C. Human Rights First believes that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence.