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as well as its applicability in time of war; (b) take positive steps, when necessary, to
ensure the full implementation of all rights prescribed by the Covenant; and (c)
consider in good faith the interpretation of the Covenant provided by the
Committee pursuant to its mandate.
11.
The Committee expresses its concern about the potentially overbroad reach of the
definitions of terrorism under domestic law, in particular under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a) (3) (B) and
Executive Order 13224 which seem to extend to conduct, e.g. in the context of political dissent,
which, although unlawful, should not be understood as constituting terrorism (articles 17, 19 and
21).
The State party should ensure that its counter-terrorism measures are in full
conformity with the Covenant and in particular that the legislation adopted in this
context is limited to crimes that would justify being assimilated to terrorism, and the
grave consequences associated with it.
12.
The Committee is concerned by credible and uncontested information that the State party
has seen fit to engage in the practice of detaining people secretly and in secret places for months
and years on end, without keeping the International Committee of the Red Cross informed. In
such cases, the rights of the families of the detainees are also being violated. The Committee is
also concerned that, even when such persons may have their detention acknowledged, they have
been held incommunicado for months or years, a practice that violates the rights protected by
articles 7 and 9. In general, the Committee is concerned by the fact that people are detained in
places where they cannot benefit from the protection of domestic or international law or where
that protection is substantially curtailed, a practice that cannot be justified by the stated need to
remove them from the battlefield. (articles 7 and 9)
The State party should immediately cease its practice of secret detention and close
all secret detention facilities. It should also grant the International Committee of
the Red Cross prompt access to any person detained in connection with an armed
conflict. The State party should also ensure that detainees, regardless of their place
of detention, always benefit from the full protection of the law.
13.
The Committee is concerned with the fact that the State party has authorized for some
time the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, such as prolonged stress positions and
isolation, sensory deprivation, hooding, exposure to cold or heat, sleep and dietary adjustments,
20-hour interrogations, removal of clothing and deprivation of all comfort and religious items,
forced grooming, and exploitation of detainees’ individual phobias. Although the Committee
welcomes the assurance that, according to the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, such
interrogation techniques are prohibited by the present Army Field Manual on Intelligence
Interrogation, the Committee remains concerned that (a) the State party refuses to acknowledge
that such techniques, several of which were allegedly applied, either individually or in
combination, over a protracted period of time, violate the prohibition contained by article 7 of
the Covenant; (b) no sentence has been pronounced against an officer, employee, member of the
Armed Forces, or other agent of the United States Government for using harsh interrogation
techniques that had been approved; (c) these interrogation techniques may still be authorized or
used by other agencies, including intelligence agencies and “private contractors”; and (d) the