Guantánamo: Declaration of the Federal Council
Bern, 21.01.2009 -
Before his election as president, Barack Obama stated several times that he would close Guantánamo as soon as possible.
In his inaugural speech yesterday, he underlined the central importance of the protection of human rights and of the rule of law. Only a few hours after taking office, the new US president and the US department of Defense have applied to have all the controversial cases before the military courts suspended for 120 days.
The Swiss government today informed the US administration that it welcomes President Obama's intention to close Guantánamo as soon as possible. In Switzerland's view, the imprisonment of persons in Guantánamo violates international law. Switzerland is willing to look into how it can contribute to the solution of the Guantanamo problem, i.e. whether it could accept prisoners released from Guantánamo, and if so how many. This will require detailed and meticulous analysis. Security aspects and legal implications will have to be taken into account.Publisher
Federal Chancellery
https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/en/home.html
Federal Chancellery
https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/en/home.html
