Returning Home: Resettlement and Reintegration of Detainees Released from the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

International Human Rights Law Clinic, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law; Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley

Returning Home: Resettlement and Reintegration of Detainees Released from the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Files

ReturningHome-Berkeley.pdf (2.49 MB)

Date

2009-03

Authors

International Human Rights Law Clinic, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order to close the detention facilities in Guantánamo Bay Naval Base within 12 months. A comprehensive plan for closing the camp should include a resettlement and reintegration program for detainees released from the facility since 2002. Our data indicate that social stigma, unemployment, and impairments to mental and physical health hinder eff orts of former detainees to reestablish their lives after release from custody. United States support for reintegration eff orts is strategically and morally justifi ed. Such eff orts will (1) protect U.S. national security, (2) help repair the U.S. image abroad, (3) enable former detainees to lead productive lives, and (4) strengthen multilateral cooperation to combat terrorism worldwide.