Amnesty International welcomes commitment to close Guantanamo

In a press release here, the human rights group said it welcomes the President-elects confirmation that he intends to close Guantanamo and ensure that the US does not use torture.

"We urge him to seize the initiative after taking office in January and to prioritize ending all internationally unlawful detention and interrogation practices by the US," said Rob Freer, Amnesty International's researcher on the US.

"We urge President-elect Obama to turn his words into action within the first 100 days of his presidency and demonstrate his commitment to meeting the US's international obligations, including by signing an executive order prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law," he added.

Amnesty is also calling on the President-elect to support an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the US's detention and interrogation practices in the "war on terror", and to ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in that context.{mospagebreak}

The organization said it has written to Obama to urge him to ensure that closing Guantanamo, ending torture and other ill-treatment, and supporting a commission of inquiry, are among his priorities for his first 100 days in office.