The first independent UN investigator to visit the US detention center, Guantanamo Bay, said the US government’s treatment of detainees there is “cruel, inhumane and humiliating”, as DW reports.

In particular, UN special rapporteur Fionnuala Ni Aolain said that the suffering of the 30 detainees is “profound and ongoing”.

Aolain’s visit marked the first time a US government has allowed a UN investigator to visit the facility since it opened in 2002.

UN investigator condemns detention without trial

The Guantanamo Bay detention center was opened in 2002 by then-US President George W. Bush in response to the September 2001 attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania that killed nearly 3,000 people. The detention center was opened to hold suspected Islamist terrorists without trial.

Aolain submitted a 23-page report to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, which said that while the 2001 attacks were “crimes against humanity”, the use of torture against the alleged perpetrators violated international human rights laws.

He argued that it deprived victims and survivors of justice because information obtained through torture cannot be used in trials.

Nearly 800 people had been imprisoned in the detention center in Cuba. Currently 30 men continue to remain incarcerated there. Aolain expressed concern that 19 of the 30 men, some of whom have been jailed for 20 years, have never been charged with a single crime, DW writes.

Survey finds evidence of ‘discomfort’ among prisoners

Aolain said that when she visited the facility, she got an “honest response” from the inmates, some of whom had not seen a foreigner for more than 20 years. He observed that many prisoners showed evidence of “deep psychological damage and distress”.

The US “disagrees” with the UN report

The UN investigator, however, praised the Biden administration for opening the prison and for “being ready to face the most difficult human rights issues”. He made a number of recommendations and said that although “significant improvements” had been made, the facility should be closed immediately.

Meanwhile, the US, in a submission to the Human Rights Council, said the researcher’s findings “are solely her own” and that the US “disagrees in significant respects with many factual and legal claims” in the report.

“Detainees live communally and prepare meals together, receive specialized medical and psychiatric care, are given full access to legal counsel and have regular contact with family members,” the US statement said.

Previously, Bush’s successor, Barack Obama, tried to close the detention center, but failed due to opposition from Congress. Donald Trump wanted to keep the detention center.