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OAS Secretary General Congratulates Uruguayan Government on Receiving Prisoners from Guantanamo

  December 7, 2014

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, welcomed the announcement this weekend that Uruguay had received, with refugee status, six people who had been held prisoner at the United States base at Guantanamo.

Secretary General Insulza, who months ago called on the countries of the Americas to help to resolve the problem of Guantanamo, congratulated "the inititative and the political will of both President José Mujíca and President-elect Tabare Vazquez for having carried out this generous gesture that contributes to the solution of a human rights problem in our Hemisphere."

The OAS leader reiterated his call on the other countries of the Hemisphere to "contribute, in line with their ability to do so, and respecting national legislation, to creating the necessary conditions for the closing of Guantanamo while also carrying out a gesture of solidarity with people who have not been convicted of any crime." "I hope this step by Uruguay opens the way for similar contributions from other countries in the Hemisphere," he added.

Insulza recalled that this call "is in line with the position expressed by our Inter-American Commission for Human Rights which has called repeatedly for the close of the prison camp" and that it "refers to those prisoners the United States government has determined do not present a risk for any country," he concluded.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-536/14