Obama shining a spotlight on human rights

I'm going to deviate from our anti-genocide theme for a post and write about another human rights issue that I've been involved with for about three years: Guantanamo Bay. The prison has been in the news a lot lately, as President-elect Barack Obama's transition team tries to figure out a way to close it. According to the New York Times, Obama will announce a plan for closing the prison on January 21, his first full day in office. This announcement raises a host of other questions, many discussed on the NYTs' blog "Room for Debate," including what to do with the prisoners and how to define/redefine detention laws. I'm really skeptical about what he's going to be able to do on his first day in office. Does announcing a plan of action necessarily mean action? If he's too hasty, it might end up being more of an empty, merely symbolic gesture rather than an actual solution to the problem and redefinition of US detention laws.

Despite my skepticism as to Obama's timeline, I don't doubt that he will close the prison and ban torture. I think it is important that his transition team is discussing closing the prison as one of the first acts of his presidency because it signifies that human rights, be it in the form of anti-torture laws or anti-genocide laws, will be central to his policies.

Visit Amnesty International to help ensure that Obama makes closing Guantanamo a priority during his first 100 days in office. In these last five days of darkness, let's all work to keep shining that light on human rights!