d. Recommendations • • • • • To allow for detainees’ free exercise of religion or belief to the maximum extent possible, insofar as it remains compatible with necessary and proportionate security restrictions; To provide all Guantánamo detainees with unhindered access to a qualified representative of the Muslim faith; To ensure that all official personnel do not engage in conduct that offends the religious beliefs or practices of detainees; To ensure that detainees have access to religious items, including the Koran, and that these religious items are handled in a respectful manner by official personnel; To review the practice of segregated prayer in Camps 5 and 7 so as to ensure that the grounds for any interference with the freedom to manifest one’s religion are fully met and, if they are not met, to amend this practice accordingly. C. RIGHT TO HEALTH AND OBLIGATION TO SECURE MEDICAL ATTENTION a. International Standards 263. The right to health is guaranteed under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Since the United States has signed but not ratified the Covenant, it is only “obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat [its] object and purpose”.548 However, it should be noted that, as a member of the World Health Organization, the United States has also accepted the principle of “enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health [as] one of the fundamental rights of every human being”.549 264. In the context of detention more specifically, OSCE commitments such as Brussels 2006 foresee that “[l]aw enforcement officials should be cognizant and attentive to the health of persons in their custody and, in particular, should take immediate action to secure medical attention whenever required”.550 Other international standards also require states to provide detainees with healthy living conditions and quality medical care.551 Every detainee is to have “access to any medical examination and treatment needed”.552 States therefore need to ensure that detainees have access to at least one medical officer qualified to provide for their physical and mental care and to appropriate dental care. According to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, in the event that detainees require 548 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Art. 18. It is generally accepted that the Vienna Convention is a codification of existing international customary law. 549 Constitution of the World Health Organization, preamble setting forth principles accepted by Contracting Parties, <http://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf?ua=1>; UN Special Procedures, “Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay”, op. cit., note 23, para. 66. 550 OSCE Ministerial Council, Ministerial Declaration, “Brussels Declaration on Criminal Justice Systems”, Brussels, 5 December 2006, <http://www.osce.org/mc/23017>. OSCE Vienna Document, op. cit., note 90, para. 23.6. This right is also protected under Article 25 of the UDHR and Article XI of the ADRDM. 551 UN Special Procedures, “Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay”, op. cit., note 23, para. 69. These obligations are reflected in “Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials”, op. cit., note 280, Art. 6; and “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners”, op. cit., note 280, Rules 10, 15, 17, 22-26, among others. 552 Istanbul Protocol, op. cit., note 313, para. 67. 114