It's been 10 years since Guantanamo Bay prison first opened, a sour milestone for inmates and observers who are waiting for the United States to close the notorious detention camp for good.
The facility transitioned into the beginning of its second decade on Wednesday amid tension over U.S. President Barack Obama's expired promise to shut the prison two years ago.
Today, the deadline for that vow is an all but distant memory and 171 prisoners stuck in various levels of legal limbo remain at the U.S. Navy Base in Cuba.
Human rights advocates remain dismayed that the prison, nicknamed "Gitmo" for the base's military location code GTMO, is still open.
"There's so much that is wrong about Guantanamo Bay," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
In an interview with CTV News Channel, he said the facility has failed to uphold the basic human rights of its detainees.
For the most part, U.S. officials have rejected claims of abusive conditions at Gitmo. That hasn't stopped the 115-square kilometre facility from making headlines for what many consider to be aggressive investigation techniques.
Former prisoner Moazzam Begg famously described how he was hog-tied and beaten at Guantanamo in a highly publicized tell-all book.
The Pentagon has denied that Begg, accused of being an al Qaeda recruiter, was abused by U.S. forces.
Little has changed since Begg was released from Guantanamo in 2005.
No detainee has left in a year thanks to new restrictions on military transfers. Adding to the uncertainty, many are frustrated with U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to sign the National Defence Authorization Act, which could allow indefinite military detention without trial.
Canada's lone Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr remains at the prison, even though he was eligible for transfer last November. Khadr became Guantanamo's youngest inmate when he was captured at age 15.
Cases such as Khadr's continue to frustrate Neve.
"You don't get to deny people their rights…simply by warehousing them in some corner of the world beyond the ordinary reach of a company's national courts," he said.
Neve and Amnesty International, along with groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, continue to press for the prison's closure.
Addressing concerns about the 171 inmates left at Guantanamo, he clarified that he isn't asking for the prisoners to be let off scot-free.
"There may well be quite a number of people amongst the remaining prisoners who should face charges," he said. "That should happen within a regular court system with fair proceedings and not in a place like Guantanamo Bay."
