US elections: the human rights issues

Ahead of the US presidential election on 6 November, Amnesty International has produced a briefing on the key human rights issues confronting both presidential candidates.

The “12 for 2012” briefing outlines the scale of the human rights challenge faced by either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney during the coming four-year presidential term.

Among the 12 issues are the need to close the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay, the requirement to end unlawful killings with drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the necessity of adopting “a more principled approach” to human rights abuses in the Middle East and North Africa.

Amnesty International USA Executive Director Suzanne Nossel (http://amn.st/PErGZt) is available for interview to discuss the US election and human rights.

The full 12 for 2012 briefing is available at: www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/12for2012Final.pdf

Guantánamo - some key facts and figures:

*167 detainees are still held in Guantánamo (as at 26 October)
*Since January 2002, in total 779 detainees have been held in Guantánamo, the vast majority without charge or criminal trial
*At least 12 of those held were under 18 years old when taken into custody
*Seven detainees have been convicted by military commission, five as a result of pre-trial agreements under which they pled guilty, four of whom have been repatriated
*Six detainees are facing possible death sentences after unfair trial by military commission
*Nine detainees have died at Guantánamo, the most recent in September. According to the authorities, six of the previous eight deaths were the result of suicide, two of natural causes
*About 600 detainees have been transferred from Guantánamo to other countries
*One detainee has been transferred to the US mainland for trial in a US federal court *According to the Obama administration in 2010, 48 detainees will neither be released nor tried, but will be held in indefinite detention