WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has named an envoy to work with other countries to accept detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to close the prison in a year, a spokesman said Thursday.
Clinton, who says she is encouraged by European willingness to receive such prisoners, asked Dan Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, to serve in the new post, spokesman Robert Wood said.
Wood, the State Department spokesman, said "the secretary has determined we need to intensify our efforts to facilitate the transfer of detainees" to meet President Barack Obama's commitment to close the prison within a year.
"She therefore has asked Ambassador Dan Fried, a seasoned diplomat with a strong record of accomplishment, to lead a dedicated team to address this issue full-time," said Wood who read a statement at the daily press briefing.
"Ambassador Fried's extensive experience will be an invaluable asset as we seek the assistance of foreign governments in moving toward the closure of the detention facility," said Wood.
He said in the last few years an ambassador-at-large for war crimes, Clint Williamson, and his staff have worked on negotiating transfers, even though the office also works full time on war crimes issues.
"This shift provides the benefit of also ensuring that the ambassador-at-large and his team can devote their full attention to war crime matters, which are of critical importance to this administration," he added.
He said Fried will stay in his position as assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs until the person tapped to replace him, Phil Gordon, is confirmed by the Senate.
Fried's appointment does not have to be confirmed by the Senate, a State Department official told AFP.
European Union nations have welcomed President Barack Obama's decision on January 22 to close the detention center at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and are keen to help Washington do so.
However, due to widely differing laws among the 27 EU countries, they are struggling to define a common position on how best to help, as they await an official request to accept former inmates.
A high-level EU delegation will travel to Washington on March 16-17 to find out exactly how US authorities decided that around 60 of the more than 240 prisoners could be released and why they cannot be hosted by the United States.
Obama's order signaled a sharp reversal of the controversial Bush administration "war on terror" policies launched in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Signing the Guantanamo order, which also halted any further military hearings of the inmates, Obama said he was setting in place a process by which the camp "will be closed no later than one year from now."
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