BRUSSELS: For years, the European Union has called loudly for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center. Now that US President Barack Obama has taken the decision to do so, the EU stands ready to provide political and practical support to the United States to help achieve that goal.
We share President Obama’s assessment that “Guantánamo became a symbol that helped Al Qaeda recruit terrorists to its cause. Indeed, the existence of Guantánamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained. We in the EU believe that it is our common interest with the US to prevent radicalization and recruitment to terrorism throughout the world.
The primary responsibility for closing Guantánamo and re-settling detainees lies with the US. But Europeans want to help the US turn the page. That is why EU member states have already received their own nationals and former residents from Guantánamo. That is why France recently received an Algerian ex-detainee. And that is why several other EU countries are now considering receiving ex-detainees cleared for release, but who, for compelling reasons, cannot return to their countries of origin. We in the EU expect the US to do likewise; if it is safe to release these people in Europe, it is safe to do so in the US.
More generally, we agree with Obama that “in the long run we…cannot keep…safe unless we enlist the power of our most fundamental values, and that “we uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens [us] and keeps us safe. The experience of European democracies confronted with a long-term terrorist threat shows that human rights and the rule of law are our strongest assets. That is why terrorists want to destroy them.
The closure of Guantánamo must be accompanied by a fundamental review of the underlying policies that gave rise to its existence. Obama’s decisions to ban “enhanced interrogation and end secret detention are important steps in the right direction.
But more steps are needed. In particular, indefinite detention without trial needs to be addressed to avoid the recurrence of problems. Therefore, the review of detention, trial, transfer, and interrogation policies is of utmost importance. There must be no gaps in protection, whatever law is applicable. The EU will take up the Obama administration’s invitation to share its views with his Detention Policy Task Force on international law principles relevant to the fight against terrorism.
We hope the US will change its “war on terror paradigm and re-think its conception of a global armed conflict against Al Qaeda. No EU member has taken such an approach.
There is an obvious difference between persons engaged in an armed conflict, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, and terrorist suspects arrested outside of armed conflict. A case-by-case approach is therefore necessary.
We welcome the fact that the first former Guantánamo detainee is facing criminal charges in New York. The perpetrators of the Madrid and London bombings were prosecuted in ordinary criminal trials. One plotter in the attack of September 11, 2001, appeared before ordinary courts in Germany. In many EU member states, criminal law has been strengthened and is being used to prevent attacks. Membership of a terrorist organization, including those operating on foreign soil, training and recruiting people for terrorism, and promotion of terrorism have been made criminal offenses.
The fight against international terrorism raises important legal questions. We are looking forward to continuing our productive dialogue with the US State Department Legal Adviser.
The threat from Al Qaeda is global. The EU and US must work together to make Europe and America safe. By closing Guantánamo and addressing the underlying policy issues, the US is creating a much stronger foundation for close EU-US cooperation in counter-terrorism and the fight against international crime, one based on the rule of law and human rights. Together, the EU and the US will be in a better position jointly to promote justice, human rights and freedom around the world. This has been and remains the most sustainable way of preventing radicalization and recruitment to terrorism.
Closing Guantánamo is not a gesture to win applause from Europeans. It is a necessary revision of policy that will make the US, Europe, and the world safer.
Gilles de Kerchove is the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator of the European Union. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).
