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Ban Force-Feeding at Guantánamo Bay
Sarah R.
started this petition to
President Barack Obama
103 of the 166 men at Guantánamo Bay who are being indefinitely detained by the United States government are on a hunger strike to protest being imprisoned without charge or trial for over 11 years. Of those, no fewer than 35 are being forcibly fed, an act that the American Medical Association condemns as a violation of "core ethical values of the medical profession" and the United Nations views as torture and a breach of international law.
The World Medical Association, a 102-nation body (of which the U.S. is a member) has declared that forcible feeding is "never ethically acceptable." And that, even if it is intended to prevent death, "feeding accompanied with threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment. Equally unacceptable is the force feeding of some detainees in order to intimidate or coerce other hunger strikers to stop fasting."
This petition asks President Obama *only* to ban force-feeding. There are other excellent petitions asking him to close the prison, transfer the 86 men who have been cleared for release, and to charge and fairly try or release the other 80 men. This petition asks the President for a gesture of good faith in light of his recent May 23, 2013 declaration that he still wants to close the prison.
Let's remind President Obama that the world is watching and waiting for him to take action.
The World Medical Association, a 102-nation body (of which the U.S. is a member) has declared that forcible feeding is "never ethically acceptable." And that, even if it is intended to prevent death, "feeding accompanied with threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment. Equally unacceptable is the force feeding of some detainees in order to intimidate or coerce other hunger strikers to stop fasting."
This petition asks President Obama *only* to ban force-feeding. There are other excellent petitions asking him to close the prison, transfer the 86 men who have been cleared for release, and to charge and fairly try or release the other 80 men. This petition asks the President for a gesture of good faith in light of his recent May 23, 2013 declaration that he still wants to close the prison.
Let's remind President Obama that the world is watching and waiting for him to take action.
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