On 30 January 2016, the Guantánamo detentions will have been running for longer on President Barack Obama’s watch than that of his predecessor. We have already entered a period in which impunity for crimes under international law committed in the CIA’s secret detention programme has persisted longer under President Obama than under President Bush. Time is running out fast for President Obama and his administration, not to mention Congress, to meet their human rights obligations on these issues while in office; or after they leave they will be known for their failure to do so. The legacy clock is ticking.
