The Detention Facilities at Guantanamo Bay Do Conform with International Law

One of the most heated debates of the day is whether or not the standards and practices at Guantanamo Bay violate international law. U.S. military practices at Guantanamo Bay are beneficial in protecting the security of the United States. Using several key international treaties and conventions, I will prove that the detention and interrogation facilities at Guantanamo Bay do in fact conform with the standards of international human rights law. 

The media is filled with unconfirmed reports and speculation that mass torture has been used on Iraqi and Al-Queda prisoners. According to a Newsday magazine report published on June 20, 2005, the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay really is not as bad as we were led to believe. Most of the inmates listen to the orders of the prison guards and are given three meals a day which comply with Muslim dietary specifications. The food includes such items as chicken, fish and beef and the meals actually cost more than what the U.S. army spends to feed its own soldiers. Our military personnel endure inhumane treatment by the prisoners such as having feces and urine thrown at them from the jail cells.1 The Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions also state that religious tolerance and freedom must be allowed for all prisoners.2 The U.S. does in fact comply with this law as Muslim men are allowed to pray during the day and have a directional arrow placed in their cell that points to the holy land of Mecca. Prisoners are provided with basic toiletries and are given a copy of the Quran to read.1