Obama, we don’t expect the impossible

Dear friend,

Today America swore in a president who promises a "new era of responsibility" for its people.

Barack Obama has the toughest challenge facing a new American president for a generation, but dealing with the legacy of a seven-year assault on human rights must be at the top of his agenda.

This month Mr Obama pledged to close Guantanamo Bay but suggested it will take “some time” to empty the military camp that has become a symbol of lawlessness since it received its first prisoners seven years ago.

Closing Guantanamo must take months not years – please ask President Obama to demonstrate his commitment to human rights in his first 100 days in office

We're not expecting miracles, but we do expect President Obama to stand by his promises. We‘ve produced a checklist we want him to commit to in his first 100 days in office:

• Announcing a timeline for the closure of Guantanamo
• Issuing an executive order to ban torture and other ill-treatment
• Ensuring an independent inquiry into the US's detention and interrogation practices in its 'war on terror'

When Barack Obama was elected President in November, thousands of you sent messages calling on him to respect human rights and undo the wrongs of the previous US administration. This time for the inauguration, we need you once again to sustain the pressure and make our voices heard.

Please call on President Obama to restore justice and accountability within his first 100 days in office.

We are not asking the impossible. Let's seize this opportunity and ensure that the future of human rights is championed by the new American President.

Claire Mallinson
National Director
Amnesty International Australia

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