The United States has done too little to improve treatment of prisoners at its Guantanamo Bay naval base and risks doing more harm than good in the battle against terrorism, UN human rights investigators said on Friday.
Investigators also warned conditions at the detention facility, where South Australian David Hicks is being held, put detainees at risk of psychiatric deterioration with irreversible damage, United Nations experts have warned.
In a joint statement, six inspectors voiced fresh concern at reports of inhuman and degrading treatment of inmates at Guantanamo, saying the global fight against terrorism would be weakened if countries failed to uphold basic legal protections.
"The right and duty of all states to use all lawful means to protect their citizens against death and destruction brought about by terrorists must be exercised in conformity with international law, lest the whole cause of the international fight against terrorism be compromised," the UN experts said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1296526.htm