On the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Special Rapporteur Ben Saul called for renewed efforts to achieve justice for the victims and their families. In a statement marking the solemn occasion, Saul, an independent expert on human rights and counterterrorism, commended the U.S. Government’s support for victims but stressed that much more remains to be done.
“Too many victims and their families are still awaiting justice,” Saul said. He acknowledged the profound suffering caused by the attacks, which claimed 2,977 lives, including 441 first responders, and left over 6,000 injured. However, he lamented the ongoing lack of accountability and fairness in trials related to the attacks, citing the delayed trial of three suspects and the revocation of a plea deal by the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Saul pointed to broader concerns about human rights violations stemming from the U.S. government’s actions in the aftermath of 9/11, including illegal renditions, torture, and inhumane detention conditions at Guantánamo Bay. He also highlighted the plight of 30 detainees still held at the facility, with 16 cleared for release but awaiting resettlement. Many former detainees, he said, continue to face severe vulnerabilities after being subjected to arbitrary detention and abuse.
Saul criticized the U.S. for its failure to provide remedies, including rehabilitation and compensation, to those wrongfully detained and for not holding officials accountable for violations of international law. He warned that this impunity undermines the global rule of law and sends a dangerous message that “lawlessness and international crimes are acceptable while countering terrorism.”
The Special Rapporteur called for a “long overdue reckoning” and urged the U.S. government to fully implement recommendations from a 2023 technical visit, which included demands for accountability, compensation, and formal apologies to victims.
There was no “wrongful detention” of unlawful combatant Islamists who want to kill us at the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Even lawful combatant POWs may be held without charge or trial “until the end of hostilities,” according to the Geneva Conventions and the Law of War. Just under 800 detainees have been held at Gitmo, but over 745 have been RELEASED< and NONE have been beheaded, executed, blown up, hacked to death, dragged naked and lifeless through the streets, drowned or burned alive. All things our enemies have done to us and/or our allies. There is no moral comparison between Gitmo and how our enemies treat their captives. The Global War on Terror is ongoing, and all live unlawful combatants in that war belong at Gitmo, the finest such facility on earth. ICRC physicians I worked with there told me, "No one does [detention operations] better than the US." The conditions at Gitmo are superb, and include FREE Qurans, prayer rugs/beads, directions to Mecca, white robes, services of US military Muslim chaplains, halal and special Muslim holy holiday meals, world class health, vision and dental care, psychiatric services, correspondence, recreation, books, DVDs, video games, TV, sports and more. Only a handful of detainees were waterboarded, which was approved and legal at the time and did not meet the internationally accepted definition of torture at the time, in order to obtain valuable information that saved many lives. The problem with prosecuting those accused of war crimes lies in the Military Commissions Acts of 2006 (Bush) and then in 2009 (Obama), which gives these detainees virtually the same rights an American would enjoy in a federal court of law. This is ridiculous and unprecedented. Detainees should have no more or no fewer rights than an American soldier would have under the UCMJ, as per the Law of War.