Above and beyond the law

In the Guantánamo Bay detention facility over 100 prisoners are staging a hunger strike in protest of their indefinite detention and other rights violations.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated that the "continuing indefinite incarceration" of detainees and the "systemic abuse of individuals’ human rights" were a "clear breach of international law"
Half of the 166 detainees still being held in detention have been cleared for transfer to either home countries or third countries for resettlement, either because they were innocent or no longer considered a threat.Yet they remain in detention.
According to Pillay. “ It severely undermines the United States’ stance that it is an upholder of human rights, and weakens its position when addressing human rights violations elsewhere..We must be clear about this: the United States is in clear breach not just of its own commitments but also of international laws and standards that it is obliged to uphold. When other countries breach these standards, the US – quite rightly – strongly criticizes them for it.”