Guantanamo Bay
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In the month after winning election, [[Barack Obama|President-Elect Obama]] made promises to close the prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay, however whether or not he will fulfill these remains to be seen. | In the month after winning election, [[Barack Obama|President-Elect Obama]] made promises to close the prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay, however whether or not he will fulfill these remains to be seen. | ||
| − | [[Michael Moore]] pointed out in his documentary ''Sicko'' that Guantanamo Bay offers free health care to its detainees, as the United States is a "Contracting Party to the World Health Organization, and thus has accepted the principle that the 'enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.'"<ref> | + | [[Michael Moore]] pointed out in his documentary ''Sicko'' that Guantanamo Bay offers free health care to its detainees, as the United States is a "Contracting Party to the World Health Organization, and thus has accepted the principle that the 'enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.'"<ref> http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/report/2006/guantanamo-detainees-report_un_060216.htm </ref> Ironically, the United States has not extended the "fundamental right" of [[Universal health care|free health care]] to its own citizens. |
== See also == | == See also == | ||
Revision as of 00:34, 24 December 2008
Guantanamo Bay is a US Naval Base on the island of Cuba. Now more than a century old, it is the only US base in a country which America doesn't have good diplomatic relations with and the Cuban Government opposes its existence. It is now most famous for containing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, or "Gitmo", a military prison which has existed since 2002.
It holds prisoners which the United States government feels pose a terrorist threat. In order to avoid the strictures of the Geneva Conventions the US government has classified the prisoners as "enemy combatants" and not as "prisoners of war". Although none of the major human rights advocacy groups (such as the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International) have described it as such, some people believe that the Guantanamo Bay facility constitutes a concentration camp.
The detention center has been a source of continual disgrace to the United States, and would be an embarrassment to the George W. Bush administration, if they were capable of feeling shame.
In the month after winning election, President-Elect Obama made promises to close the prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay, however whether or not he will fulfill these remains to be seen.
Michael Moore pointed out in his documentary Sicko that Guantanamo Bay offers free health care to its detainees, as the United States is a "Contracting Party to the World Health Organization, and thus has accepted the principle that the 'enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.'"[1] Ironically, the United States has not extended the "fundamental right" of free health care to its own citizens.
See also
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