Should the Government Continue Repatriating Guantanamo Detainees to Other Countries - Research Paper Example

?Politics Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 5th November, Should the government continuerepatriating (i.e., returning) Guantanamo detainees to other countries? PRO: Yes, the US government should repatriate Guantanamo detainees because… 1. Repatriation of Guantanamo detainees would help build the image of the US government on issues of human rights. 2. Guantanamo bay detainees would finally get justice through trial in repatriated countries. 3. Guantanamo bay detainees should be released for the purposes of rebuilding their lives. Since they were arrested without trial, this ruined their lives. 4. The cost of maintaining Guantanamo bay detainees is costly and repatriating them would assist American government save on costs. 5. Repatriation of Guantanamo bay detainees would help in restoring the broken relations between US and the Middle East nations whose citizens were seen as targets of Guantanamo. CON: No, the US government should not repatriate Guantanamo bay detainees because… 1. Repatriation of Guantanamo bay detainees would put their lives at risk. 2. Repatriating Guantanamo bay detainees will create a new security risk to American citizens. 3. Since Guantanamo bay detainees are prisoners of war, they have to face international charges on the crimes they undertook. 4. Repatriating Guantanamo bay detainees would seem unfair to victims of acts of terrorism who feel that these detainees deserve justice. 5. Repatriating Guantanamo bay detainees would amount to giving freedom to unlawful combatants. As a result, it would deal a blow to war on terrorism. The handling of Guantanamo bay detainees was not done in a proper manner since they were arrested and detained without trial. As a result, the US government has suffered a lot in terms of its image being soiled as a human rights violator. Therefore, the repatriations of Guantanamo bay detainees will help US to put behind the problems concerning human rights violations. Moreover, it will also assist the United States in giving justice to the detainees since they were first illegally and denied trial.1 In most case, Guantanamo bay detainees were not found at fault and therefore they will be released as a way of serving justice unto them. Guantanamo bay detainees should be treated as human beings and thus their release and eventual repatriation would guarantee them freedom. For instance, the case of Latif who committed suicide in Guantanamo tends to tarnish the human rights record of the United States.2 The US government will also save on costs of handling Guantanamo bay detainees if they were to be repatriated. The American government will save a lot if they repatriate Guantanamo bay detainees and it also well also help in reducing costs on people who are neither guilty nor innocent of war crimes. Guantanamo bay detainees have suffered a lot under the US administration since their incarceration was done against international laws. The detainees were not treated humanely and therefore man people criticised the move by President Bush’s government in detaining prisoners. For instance, the repatriation of Guantanamo bay detainees has been applauded as a good move by Elisa Massimino who said that the release of the prisoners by President Obama would help the US reclaim its role as a nation committed to human rights and the rule of law.3 The detention of people in Guantanamo bay was illegal and it lead to the ruin of the lives of many people from different locations. As a result, the repatriation of Guantanamo bay detainees would give an opportunity for the detainees to rebuild their lives. Since the war of Afghanistan and the detention of prisoners in Guantanamo bay, the relations between US and several Middle East nations deteriorated. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen who had their citizens captured were unhappy and this led to thawing of relations between the two nations. Therefore, the repatriation of Guantanamo bay detainees would help ease the tension and improve relations.4 The repatriation of Guantanamo bay detainees is not advisable since this will place their lives at risk. For instance, most of the Guantanamo bay detainees will be at risk since some of the countries in which Guantanamo bay detainees are repatriated to have questionable human rights record. It is known that many Guantanamo bay detainees are afraid of being repatriated to their countries of origin. Most of the detainees have refused to be repatriated to their mother countries fearing for their lives due to backlash. Most of these detainees fear that lack of protection of their lives is the biggest risk they face.5 For instance, one of the detainees had fled his mother country Libya before the war but he fears persecution if he is repatriated back to Libya. Most Guantanamo bay detainees should face justice for the wrong they committed or be faced with justice for their actions. Repatriating Guantanamo bay prisoners would not achieve the purpose of adherence to the rule of law or natural justice. Guantanamo bay detainees deserve to tried in a civilian court for their actions of war or terrorism.6 Since, they were considered as unlawful combatants against the US people during the war. Many Guantanamo bay detainees were people who swore to harm American or its citizens through any means. Thus, releasing Guantanamo bay detainees would create a security risk for the United States. As a result, it would be recommended for the US government not to release Guantanamo bay detainees since it would be difficult to contain the security risk that these people can cause.7 Furthermore, the incarceration of these prisoners has affected their lives to the extent that they are ready and willing to achieve their aim of destroying the United States. Guarantying the safety of US citizens from the detainees who were defined by the US government as unlawful combatants would be very difficult. Moreover, the victims of the September 11 attacks and other terror acts will feel that denial of justice occurred. Guantanamo bay detainees should only be released when a criminal justice system has seen set up. Using this mechanism it would ensure that only innocent detainees are released from the prison.8 As a result, the victims of the US attacks would feel the service of justice to the aggrieved persons. In my own opinion, I am of the view that Guantanamo bay detainees should be repatriated. This is because in the beginning the capture and arrest of these detainees was done in an illegal manner. Moreover, no cause was shown that the detained persons were directly or indirectly involved in orchestrating acts of terror against the US people. The manner in which the US government captured and detained these people was against international laws such as the Geneva Convention. Although the United States made amendments to its laws and used new terms in the law, its action was unlawful. For instance, the Guantanamo bay detainees were not given the right to be informed charges against them or the right to counsel.9 The detention of Guantanamo amounted to violation of human rights which a major crime in the globe currently. As a result, the United States of America should release Guantanamo bay detainees so that the country can get an opportunity to redeem its image globally. In terms of cost, the US government should repatriate Guantanamo bay detainees so that the country can save a lot of money while at the same time building its image.10 The United States of America is regarded as a free man’s country and therefore repatriating these detainees will shoe that the country believes in humanity and the freedom of human beings as paramount in achieving global peace. Guantanamo bay detainees deserve to be given a chance to rebuild their lives and have the chance to live normal again. NOTES Read More