34 | Towards the Closure of Guantanamo 57. 58. 59. e. the members of the Special Commission shall have access to the jails and all other detention and interrogations sites and shall be able to interview in private those persons imprisoned or detained;” In 2007 the IACHR requested the United States’ consent to conduct a visit to the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo. Representatives of the U.S. government communicated to the Commission that the visit could take place, but that the delegation would not be allowed to communicate freely with the detainees, a limitation the IACHR considered unacceptable. On March 4, 2008, the President of the IACHR reported the following to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the OAS Permanent Council: 36 The Commission also sought permission during 2007 to carry out an on-site visit to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to monitor conditions of detention there for the hundreds of nationals of various countries who have been held there for extended periods. While representatives of the U.S. Government did indicate that the Commission could visit the base at Guantanamo, they informed the Commission that it would not be permitted to freely interview detainees. The Commission declined to conduct a visit under such limitations. In 2011, the IACHR reiterated its request for the United States' consent to conduct a visit. The Commission received an answer from the United States on August 26, 2011, that indicates that permission was granted under the same “terms and conditions” as communicated to the Commission in 2007. One of these conditions indicates that the United States only recognizes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the protecting body with respect to the detainees held at Guantanamo, and that, accordingly, it provides only the ICRC direct access to the detainees. On July 24, 2013, the Inter-American Commission reiterated its request to carry out a visit to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo, a visit that would include direct and private access to the detainees and would have no other preconditions. The IACHR received the same reply from the U.S. Government. G. Press releases 60. Since 2006 the Inter-American Commission has issued nine press releases regarding the human rights situation of the persons detained in Guantanamo, in which the IACHR has focused its attention on three main areas of concern: the need 36 IACHR, Requests of Permission to Conduct http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/pdl/decisions/Guantanamo.asp#Visita Organization of American States | OAS a Visit. Available at: