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UN Chief Welcomes U.S. Decision to Give Geneva Conventions Protection to Guantanamo Detainees
Associated Press
July 13, 2006
ROME - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes the U.S. government decision to extend the legal protections of the Geneva Conventions to Guantanamo detainees, his spokesman said Thursday.
Annan "believes this decision strengthens the international rule of law and is true to the U.S.'s strong tradition of respect for civil liberties," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement while Annan was visiting Italy.
"He also believes, and has frequently stated, that strict compliance with international and human rights law in no way contradicts or undermines efforts to counter terrorism, but on the contrary is essential to the success of those efforts," the statement said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3 ruling said last month that U.S. President George W. Bush overstepped his authority in holding foreign detainees in Guantanamo without charges and blocked Bush's use of military tribunals. The administration earlier this week conceded that the detainees must be given all the legal protections of the Geneva Conventions.
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