PART 1: HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN THE DETENTION OF INDIVIDUALS AT GUANTÁNAMO 124. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the AUMF on 18 September 2001. This Act enabled the US President to use all “necessary and appropriate force against those” who perpetrated or supported the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and those who harboured them.81 The US government has broadly interpreted the authority the AUMF provides,82 including the ability to conduct attacks against, and detain members and supporters of, al Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces. The US government has transferred 780 detainees to Guantánamo since 11 January 2002. 125. On 22 January 2009, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13492 creating the Guantánamo Review Task Force, which received the mandate to promptly and thoroughly review the factual and legal basis for the detention of detainees at Guantánamo.83 On 22 June 2010, the Task Force completed its review and recommended the release of 126 detainees, the potential prosecution of 36 detainees, the continued detention of 48 detainees under the AUMF and the conditional detention of 30 Yemeni detainees whose repatriation was precluded based on US concerns relating to the security situation in Yemen.84 126. As of 31 August 2015, 116 detainees remain in detention at Guantánamo Bay. Fifty-four of these detainees have been designated for transfer, 22 are candidates for prosecution,85 30 are designated for “continued law-of-war detention”,86 seven are currently in the pre-trial phase of their military commission trials and three were convicted87 before military commissions.88 127. Part 1-I of this report highlights some of the main standards designed to prevent arbitrary detention and addresses related US practice at Guantánamo. It does not aim to cover all issues related to arbitrary detention. For instance, it does not address the registration of 81 AUMF, 18 September 2001, <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/107/sjres23/text>. ODIHR interview with the American Civil Liberties Union, 24 February 2014. 83 United States President Barack H. Obama, Executive Order 13492, “Review and disposition of individuals detained at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and closure of detention facilities”, 22 January 2009, § 2(d), <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR2009-01-27/pdf/E9-1893.pdf>. 84 Michael John Garcia et al., “Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues”, Congressional Research Service, 28 March 2011, pp. 4-5, <http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R40139_20110328.pdf>. See, also, “Final Report: Guantanamo Review Task Force”, Guantánamo Review Task Force, 22 January 2010, p. ii, <http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ag/legacy/2010/06/02/guantanamo-review-final-report.pdf>. 85 Experts interviewed by ODIHR have indicated that they expect the number of detainees to actually be prosecuted to be much lower. In early 2015, the Department of Defense reportedly envisioned the prosecution of at most seven more detainees. Carol Rosenberg, “Pentagon envisions up to 7 more Guantánamo trials”, Miami Herald website, 26 March 2015, <http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article16415225.html>. 86 Following the Guantánamo Review Task Force report, 11 detainees who had previously been recommended for continued detention under the AUMF were designated for transfer by the PRB, two of whom were subsequently transferred from Guantánamo. Two detainees died in detention and five others were exchanged for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. 87 Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul was convicted following trial, and his case is under appeal. Two other detainees, Majid Khan and Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. 88 “The Guantánamo Docket”, The New York Times website, <http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo>; Carol Rosenberg, “By the Numbers”, Miami Herald website, 19 September 2014, <http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nationworld/world/americas/Guantanamo/article2163210.html>; Carol Rosenberg, “List of ‘indefinite detainees’”, Miami Herald website, 17 June 2013, <http://www.miamiherald.com/incoming/article1952554.html>. 82 49