The UN has delivered a withering verdict on the US's human rights record, raising concerns on a series of issues including torture, drone strikes, the failure to close Guantánamo Bay and the NSA's bulk collection of personal data.
The report was delivered by the UN's human rights committee in an assessment of how the US is complying with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR], which has been in force since the mid 1970s.
The committee, which is chaired by the British law professor Sir Nigel Rodley, catalogued a string of human rights concerns, notably on the mass surveillance exposed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.
It said the collection of the contents of communications from US-based companies under the Prism program had an adverse impact on the right to privacy. It added that the legal oversight of such programs had largely been kept secret and failed to protect the rights of those affected.
The UN committee urged the US to overhaul its surveillance activities to ensure they complied with US law and conformed to US obligations under the ICCPR.
The comments come as the Obama administration sets out how it proposes to end the mass collection of Americans' phonecall data and make the searching of records held by telephone companies subject to a court order.
A New York high school student who was detained at an immigration courthouse in May last...
Families arrive at the cemetery after sunset. They come carrying rugs and cushions, food and water,...
After spending two consecutive Ramadans behind bars, Leqaa Kordia was freed from US immigration detention on...
