The International Committee of the Red Cross reported last week that it is investigating the treatment of prisoners captured by the United States in Afghanistan and transported to the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba for violation of the United Nations' Geneva Convention.

The issue of whether or not those captured are counted as prisoners of war determines whether or not they fall under the auspices of the Geneva Convention. The U.S. has referred to them as "illegal combatants" or "battlefield detainees" in order to bypass the Geneva jurisdiction. The Red Cross, however, insists that they meet the legal definition of prisoners of war and must therefore be accorded the full protection provided by the United Nations.

The U.S. has captured thousands of Afghan citizens as well as nationals of other countries in the aftermath of the U.S. attack on Afghanistan. In their role under U.S. command in Afghanistan, Canadian troops have also taken Afghan prisoners and handed them over to the U.S. in spite of the disputed status of these captives and the fact that many are being held in inhumane conditions. One human rights group, Physicians for Human Rights, has reported that one prison in northern Afghanistan houses more than 3,000 captured Taliban fighters and that serious problems of overcrowding, inadequate food, lack of sanitation and exposure to winter cold and infection have led to the deaths of many prisoners, primarily from dysentery and pneumonia. The U.S. military controlled access to this prison until January 14^th and is therefore well aware of the conditions there. News agencies have also reported the boasting by some U.S. commanders that they have obtained information of a secure nature from prisoners they have "questioned", causing one to wonder what form of questioning took place and whether or not torture was used.

Britain, the staunchest ally of the U.S. in its war against Afghanistan, has also called on the U.S. to formally recognize the captured as prisoners of war in order to provide for their protection under the Geneva Convention. The longer the U.S. delays this declaration, the more it becomes apparent that they are intent on flouting world opinion and doing as they will with the prisoners.

On its part, the government of Cuba has made it clear that it will observe and maintain the atmosphere of detente between it and the U.S. administration at Guantanamo, over which it has no jurisdiction, as it was illegally taken from Cuba nearly 100 years ago. It will do so in the interests of the safety of all people of the region in which the U.S. Naval Base is located. It has offered assistance in the way of medical services and sanitation programs to help ensure the healthy and humane treatment of the prisoners. The January 11^th statement of the Republic of Cuba concluded by stating, "We are willing to cooperate in any other useful, constructive and humane way that may arise."