Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has impressed on the US Government the necessity of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay being accorded the protection of the Geneva Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30815/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has raised the issue of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay with the US Authorities on numerous occasions, with concerns being raised at the highest level when the Taoiseach, accompanied by myself, met with President Bush in Washington on 17 March 2006. We have always made it clear that we believe that detainees must be treated in accordance with the requirements of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. This position is shared by the EU as a whole and these views were expressed at the EU-US Summit which took place in Vienna on 21 June 2006. The EU urged that detainees be either charged or released and that Guantanamo be closed. I have made it clear that I believe that the Guantanamo Bay camp should be closed as soon as possible. Repeatedly, President Bush has also stated his intention to ultimately close the Guantanamo facility, which I welcome.

On 6 September, President Bush stated that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay would be given access to the International Committee of the Red Cross in compliance with the Geneva Conventions. In compliance with a US Supreme Court ruling in June this year, draft legislation providing for the treatment and trial before military tribunals of detainees was put forward by the White House in early September. The bill was subject to vigorous debate and revision in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which included the successful efforts by key Senators to ensure the application of the provisions of the Geneva Convention, notably those concerning Common Article 3. The bill was subsequently passed on 28 September and the President is expected to sign it into law in the coming days.