FIVE LEADING human rights organisations have called on European governments to provide humanitarian protection for 50 Guantánamo detainees.
They said the detainees, who will not be charged with a crime but cannot be returned to their countries of origin for fear of torture or other human rights violations, should be accepted by European countries.
The five - Amnesty International, the Centre for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and the International Federation for Human Rights - issued the call after a two-day workshop in Berlin.
In a statement, they said it was the primary responsibility of the United Nations to find solutions for all those held at Guantánamo, since it had brought them to the detention facility and was holding them there unlawfully.
It was clear, they claimed, governments in Europe and elsewhere could and should play a vital role in providing such individuals a safe place to get on with their lives after years of suffering.