The indefinite detention of individuals at Guantanamo Bay prison, “most of whom have not been charged, goes beyond a minimally reasonable period of time” and “constitutes a flagrant violation of international human rights law,” the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and a United Nations (UN) working group on arbitrary detention stated today.

The condemnation also came from Juan Mendez, a UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, Ben Emmerson, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and Anan Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

Oh dear, here comes the nutjob conspiracy screamers…

President Barack Obama, during his visit to Israel, spoke at the Jerusalem Convention Center to Israeli students. It was a typically pragmatic speech, reminding the audience that US will defend the country against those who oppose its “right to exist” while at the same time outlining how Palestinians deserve a state of their own.

When Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke to the U.N. Security Council on February 5, 2003, countless journalists in the United States extolled him for a masterful performance — making the case that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The fact that the speech later became notorious should not obscure how easily truth becomes irrelevant in the process of going to war.

Ten years later — with Powell’s speech a historic testament of shameless deception leading to vast carnage — we may not remember the extent of the fervent accolades.

Seventy-five thousand reservists in Israel have been called up for whatever Israel has planned for Gaza. It’s been bombarding it for three days and has asserted to the world that it must continue to respond to rocket attacks from Hamas because Israel cannot tolerate such terrorism. Yet, when one examines the collective punishment imposed upon the people of Gaza, it is clear that there is no equivalency between the power of Hamas to terrorize Israeli civilians and the power of Israel to terrorize Palestinian civilians.

Hamas has committed crimes and abuses. Its rocket attacks are mostly inaccurate and, because they lack precision, they are widely considered to be war crimes.

The OSCE is a body, which the United States is a founding member. Observers have been sent to the United States to observe US elections since 2002. But, now, Republicans in states where voter suppression could potentially occur are suggesting to Americans these people are here to violate American sovereignty as part of some left-wing ACORN conspiracy.

The United Nations special rapporteur for counterterrorism will lead an inquiry into civilian deaths from US drone strikes around the world, to determine whether the strikes violate international human rights and humanitarian laws.

Turkey’s Parliament approved military action against Syria yesterday, though they downplayed it as not a prelude to an invasion or a “war mandate.” But while Syria apologized for cross-border shelling that killed five in Turkey and drew this response, the Turkish military fired over the border for a second day, as the Turkish Prime Minister announced more provocations from their neighbor.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange addressed members of the United Nations at an event with Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino and Center for Constitutional Rights legal director Baher Azmy. He spoke to members on the current status of his asylum case and how the United States currently is engaged in a wide investigation into members of WikiLeaks and others, who the US believes to be connected.

Does he look like a person the US would target? Is he a militant? Such is the nightmare that is the US drone war. And it enjoys the support of both candidates running for president, especially President Barack Obama himself, who said today in front of the United Nations, “Understand America will never retreat from the world. We will bring justice to those who harm our citizens and our friends, and we will stand with our allies.”