Durbin Statement on President Obama's Executive Orders to Close Guantanamo Bay, Overhaul Treatment of Terror Suspects

Statement

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after President Obama signed a series of executive orders requiring the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center within one year, a review of military commissions and a ban on harsh interrogation techniques.

"President Obama has sent a clear message to the world that America is returning to its core values."

"The closure of Guantanamo Bay and CIA ‘black sites,' a review of the rights of detainees and ending the use of so-called ‘enhanced interrogation' techniques are strong signals to the world that we can defeat terrorism without sacrificing our most basic values."

Senator Durbin was one of the first members of Congress to criticize the Bush Administration's detainee and interrogation policies. In 2004, he authored the first legislation to prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Durbin called for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in 2006, after touring the center with a bipartisan delegation. He opposed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and led the fight against the confirmations of Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey because of their defense of the Administration's torture policies.

Durbin is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law.

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