U.N. Human Rights Committee Expresses Concern About U.S. Detention Policies

On July 28, 2006, at the conclusion of its 87th session, the U.N. Human Rights Committee criticized the United States for failing to comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the U.S. ratified in 1992. In particular, the Committee expressed concern that the U.S. government was secretly detaining suspected terrorists and that U.S. officials had authorized coercive interrogation techniques including prolonged stress positions, isolation, sensory deprivation, hooding, and exposure to extreme temperatures.