Guantanamo: Palau's Offer to Accept Detainees Would Not Excuse USA

The President of Palau, Johnson Toribiong, said today that the
Pacific island nation had agreed to accept on a temporary basis 17
Uighur men who have been held without charge or trial in Guantanamo
since 2002 "as a humanitarian gesture", subject to periodic review. In
subsequent reports, an unidentified US official is quoted as saying
that there has been "no final decision, no details arranged. We will
continue talks with Palau."

"Although Amnesty International has been calling on other countries
to offer humanitarian protection to Guantanamo detainees, this
announcement raises more questions than it answers and in no way
absolves the US authorities of their responsibility towards these men,"
Daniel Gorevan, of Amnesty International's Counter Terror with Justice
Campaign, said today.

Reports of Palau's offer do not specify whether the men would face any further detention in Palau.

No information is available as to whether the wishes of the
detainees have been taken into account in this decision, whether the
USA would put in place the measures necessary to facilitate family
reunification and whether the men would be supported to adapt to a new
life in an unfamiliar country, taking into consideration their
particular needs arising from years of indefinite detention.

"The announcement that this would be a temporary measure also raises
serious questions. Having been detained in limbo in Guantanamo for
more than seven years, the Uighur men need more than temporary half
measures. They need and are owed permanent and durable solutions,"
said Daniel Gorevan.

The USA began the Guantanamo detentions and therefore carries the
primary responsibility for ending them, in ways that comply with its
international obligations. Nevertheless, Amnesty International has long
called on other countries to help by accepting some detainees who
cannot be returned to their home countries. Many countries have
refused, citing the USA's own resistance to offering them the
opportunity to be admitted to the US mainland.

Background
The 17 Uighur men have been held without charge or trial in Guantanamo
since 2002, and remain in indefinite detention at the base more than
eight months after a US federal judge concluded that their detention
was unlawful and ordered their immediate release into the USA. The US
authorities successfully appealed the order, which is now before the
Supreme Court, and continue to hold them, arguing that it is a matter
for the political branches of government to decide who should be
allowed into the USA.

Although President Toribiong's announcement leaves unclear whether
the temporary transfer of the 17 Uighur men to Palau would be an
appropriate solution, it is undoubtedly the case that their release
from Guantanamo is long overdue. All of the men had been cleared for
release at various times between 2003 and 2008, but the US authorities
were unable to find a country prepared to accept them. Even after
their release into the USA was judicially ordered in October 2008, the
USA failed in its responsibility to offer them the opportunity to
rebuild their lives on the US mainland and has instead continued to
seek to have other countries take on that responsibility. In 2006
Albania accepted five other ethnic Uighur detainees from Guantanamo.

The 17 men are from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China.
They cannot be returned to China because they would be at serious risk
of torture or execution there. The Bush administration said that it had
asked over 100 countries to accept the detainees but all had refused.

For further information, see:
USA: Justice Years Overdue: Federal court hearing for Uighur detainees in Guantanamo, 7 October 2008, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/110/2008/en;
USA: Federal judge orders release of Uighurs held at Guantanamo, government appeals, 8 October 2008, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/111/2008/en;
USA: US Court of Appeals blocks release of Guantanamo Uighurs as government resorts to 'scare tactics', 10 October 2008, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/113/2008/en;
USA: Indefinite detention by litigation: 'Monstrous absurdity' continues as Uighurs remain in Guantanamo, 12 November 2008, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/136/2008/en;
USA: Right to an effective remedy - Administration should release Guantanamo Uighurs into the USA now, 19 February, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/023/2009/en.