Afghanistan: Detainees
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Written answers and statements, 4 November 2009
Sarah Teather (Brent East, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the United States administration on proposals to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp.
Ivan Lewis (Minister of State (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Bury South, Labour)
The Government have long called for the closure of Guantánamo Bay and we have welcomed US President Barack Obama's commitment to close the facility. We recognise that there are important practical challenges to overcome in working for the closure of Guantánamo Bay, and these issues are discussed in the context of our ongoing dialogue with the US on a range of human rights, counter terrorism and international legal issues.
We will continue to discuss with the US government how best we can work with them, and our European partners, to achieve closure in a manner that ensures both human rights and potential security concerns posed in determining the disposition of the detainees are appropriately addressed.