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ENGLAND: Synod calls for Guantanamo Bay's closure, debates detention without charge
[Episcopal News Service, London] Balancing the demand for security from terrorist attacks with the protection of civil rights and liberties was central to a February 14 Church of England General Synod debate, during which an overwhelming majority of members passed a motion urging the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.The two-hour debate was triggered by the British Government's proposal to extend from 28 to 42 days the maximum period for detaining without charge people suspected of terrorist offences, noted Dr. Philip Giddings of Oxford, vice chair of the House of Laity, while introducing the debate.
After debate on a proposed amendment, which failed to pass, Synod voted 235 in favor and two against the motion, with seven abstentions.
The motion emphasizes the importance of society "maintaining a careful balance between the liberty of the individual and the needs of national security" and expresses "grave concern" that an extension to the current 28-day maximum period for detention without charge of terrorist suspects would "disturb that balance unacceptably."
According to Giddings, the maximum period allowed for detention without charge has quadrupled from 7 to 28 days in the last five years.
The motion and a supporting report, "Detention without Charge," drafted by the Church's Mission and Public Affairs Council, "take the opportunity to reflect more broadly on the tension between the need to protect the public against terrorism, and the need to protect freedom under the law," said Giddings, convener of the conservative coalition Anglican Mainstream.
The report acknowledges that the 28-day limit has so far proved sufficient, Giddings said, adding: "Four weeks is already a considerable disruption of the life of an innocent person, and his family; six seeks would be even more oppressive."
International surveys, "show that 28 days is already beyond the limit in other common law countries," said Giddings, citing a recent U.K. Joint Committee on Human Rights report "that holds that an extension beyond 28 days is not justified at present."
The motion, while welcoming the release of most U.K. prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, deplores "the continued holding of prisoners there without charge or due process" and encourages Her Majesty's Government "to continue to use all available means to press the United States administration to close the Guantanamo Bay facility and restore the full application of the rule of law."
The Rev. Andrew Watson from the Diocese of London commended the Council's report as "clear, balanced and precise."
"Questions about security and politics and fear are precisely what the church should be addressing right now," he said. "The government quite rightly places our security at the top of its agenda. Every effort should be made to protect our security that does not involve the increase of detaining people without charge, which causes untold damage to individuals, families and societies alike."
Watson suggested that such detention breeds terrorism. "Policies of fear fuels the politics of resentment," he said. "Then we've really got something to be frightened about."
The Rev. Ruth Worsley from the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham told Synod about a member of her congregation who was detained last year while his wife was sent to collect their son, pack their bags and meet him at London's Heathrow Airport five days later when they were to be flown back to Afghanistan.
Worsley and others called for an injunction, which proved successful, and days later he returned home. "He and his wife were already wearing electronic tags, and were under strict curfew," Worsley said. "Neither has committed a crime and their application for asylum has not yet been processed."
"It is right that we should encourage Her Majesty's Government to use all available means to press the U.S. to close Guantanamo," she added. "However, we must also acknowledge the moral disclosure of our own government" that detains and treats people in similar ways.
Suffragan Bishop Nigel Stock of Stockport said he supports the motion "which seems to maintain the dignity of all human beings even if they are suspects."
"It is corrosive fear that destroys communities and in the end nations," he said. "As a bishop in East Lancashire, which has a significant minority population, we have been doing a great deal to build bridges across those divides. The increasing fear that threatens the minority communities has resulted in greater separation in many ways."
"If we are to build a better society and deeper quality of community and community cohesion, then trust needs to replace fear and the threat needs to be dissolved," he added. "Extension of detention heavily applied breeds fear in those communities. This will not prevent terrorism, but will become a breeding ground for radicalism."
The full text of the motion follows:
‘That this Synod, mindful both of the Christian teaching that enforcement of law should be just in process and outcome, and of the challenge that the advent of suicide attacks poses for the general public and for those who bear responsibility for protecting the public from terrorism:
- emphasize the importance of society maintaining a careful balance between the liberty of the individual and the needs of national security;
- express grave concern that an extension to the current 28-day maximum period for detention without charge of terrorist suspects would, in the absence of the most compelling arguments, disturb that balance unacceptably;
- while welcoming the release of most U.K. prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, deplore the continued holding of prisoners there without charge or due process and encourage Her Majesty's Government to continue to use all available means to press the United States administration to close the Guantanamo Bay facility and restore the full application of the rule of law; and
- affirm the desirability of an early review by the Government of the restrictions and other obligations that may be imposed on individuals under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 and the use of undisclosed material in control order proceedings.'
In other business, the Synod approved a motion recommending that draft legislation be introduced "to change the position as regards the Crown's right" in making senior clerical appointments in the Church of England. The legislation could potentially limit the British Prime Minister's responsibility in making such appointments.
A report to General Synod on Crown Appointments is available here.
The motion was carried by 290 votes to 16 (with 16 abstentions).
The Church of England's General Synod will next meet July 4-8 in York.