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Americans Criticize Guantanamo Situation
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States disagree with the current circumstances at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, according to a poll by Knowledge Networks for the Program on International Policy Attitudes. 63 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should not hold certain individuals for interrogation for several years without charging them with a crime.
In May 2005, a 308-page report by Amnesty International criticized the U.S. government for its handling of prisoners in several detention centres, including one at Guantanamo Bay where more than 500 "enemy combatants"—most of them from Afghanistan—are being held. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have urged the federal administration to close the prison.
U.S. president George W. Bush called the Amnesty International document "absurd," adding, "The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world. When there's accusations made about certain actions by our people, they're fully investigated in a transparent way."
The survey also showed support for the International Criminal Court (ICC). 66 per cent of respondents believe the U.S. should back this permanent tribunal.
The ICC was established by the Rome Statute, which delineates the tribunal's functions, structure and jurisdiction. To date, 100 countries have ratified the document, thereby granting authority to the ICC to try their citizens for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed after Jul. 1, 2002.
In October 2004, Bush dismissed the rationale for the ICC, saying, "This is a court based in The Hague, where our troops, or diplomats, could be brought before a foreign judge, an unaccountable foreign judge, because of decisions made by our country. (...) I think it would be bad for our troops to (face) an unaccountable prosecutor in a foreign land."
Polling Data
As you may know, the U.S. participates in the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights, which reviews human rights standards in various countries including the U.S. Recently, the Commission evaluated how the U.S. treats detainees at Guantanamo Bay and determined that the U.S. has held certain individuals for interrogation for several years without charging them with a crime, contrary to international conventions. Do you think that the U.S. should or should not change this practice according to the prescriptions of the UN Commission on Human Rights?
Should | 63% |
Should not | 30% |
No answer | 7% |
A permanent International Criminal Court has been established by the UN to try individuals suspected of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Some say the U.S. should not support the Court because trumped-up charges may be brought against Americans, for example, U.S. soldiers who use force in the course of a peacekeeping operation. Others say that the U.S. should support the court because the world needs a better way to prosecute war criminals, many of whom go unpunished today. Do you think the U.S. should or should not support the permanent International Criminal Court?
Should | 69% |
Should not | 29% |
No answer | 3% |
Source: Knowledge Networks / Program on International Policy Attitudes
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,023 American adults, conducted from Apr. 8 to Apr. 23, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
