And so after eight years, the Bush era is coming to a close with the election of America’s first black president, Barack Obama. Already this month, the president-elect has confirmed his earlier promise that the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay will be closed, bringing that dark chapter to an end.

We have again been reminded of the farce of Guantanamo this month, with the news that Salim Hamdan, after spending six years in detention, will become a free man by the end of this year. Obama’s reforms must be welcomed. Perhaps we will once again be able to look across the Atlantic to the US as the bastion of liberty and the rule of law.

We should further not forget two things in particular about Obama: first, his background as a human rights lawyer and second, his activities from his days as an ambitious student at Harvard working for social and civil rights. With the same ambition, it is our hope that the SHRP will produce the Barack Obamas – and all leaders like him – of the future.

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