CLOSURE OF GUANTÁNAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY

Early day motion 439, tabled 14 January 2009 by Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 46 members.

That this House welcomes the announcement of the proposed closure of the Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility; calls for this to happen more quickly than the projection of within the next two years; notes with disgust that it has existed for seven years under the administration of the President of the United States, George W. Bush; condemns the brutal manner in which detainees have been treated, coupled with a refusal of a fair trial and subjection to severe violations of their human rights; acknowledges the closure of Guantánamo Bay as one step towards the closure of all such detention facilities around the world; demands that all detainees should be entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention; believes that evidence gained under torture is unreliable and immoral; expresses concern that prisoners have included UK citizens such as Moazzam Begg, who spent three years in captivity at detention facilities in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, without charge or explanation; advocates the immediate release of all those detained unlawfully; urges the international community to have them returned home safely or to countries where they do not face the risk of arbitrary detention and torture; and calls on the Government to maintain a strong line on human rights abuses perpetrated by the US and to step up diplomatic pressure on the international community to enforce the closure of all secret detention facilities around the world.

Signatures by party: Liberal Democrat 22, Labour 19, Conservative 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent 1.