Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The recent joint report by the four UN special rapporteurs and the Chair of the working group on arbitrary detention is a significant development in the debate regarding the situation of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

The finding of the report, which states the view of the authors that aspects of the treatment of prisoners there must be assessed as amounting to torture, should be taken very seriously, given the expertise and international reputation of the special rapporteurs and the chair of the working group. This finding will clearly be subject to further consideration and debate.

As I stated in the Dáil on previous occasions, Ireland regards torture as unacceptable and unjustifiable under any circumstances.

With regard to the legal basis on which the persons in Guantanamo Bay are being detained, the Government's position on the condition and status of detainees in Guantanamo is clear and has been consistently conveyed to the US authorities. All detained persons are entitled to the protection of international human rights instruments and, where applicable, international humanitarian law.

I have carefully noted the initial response of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, to the joint report. I endorse the Secretary General's view that those held in Guantanamo Bay should either be charged or released, and that the United States should close the facility. This would be highly desirable on human rights grounds. Closure of Guantanamo Bay would, in addition, serve to reassure all of America's friends, including Ireland, who recognise the importance of the role of the United States as a global leader in combating terrorism and promoting democracy.

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