UNITED NATIONS, MAY 6: Voicing 'serious concern' following reports of torture of Iraqi detainees by United States and British military officers, a United Nations human rights group on Wednesday called on the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi Governing Council to respect international human rights law and grant them access to courts.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Commission on Human Rights urged both the bodies to allow clarification of the legal status of each detainee and apply the rules and norms enshrined in Articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 9 and 14 of the Civil and Political Rights Covenant.

"The Working Group's chairperson-rapporteur is seriously disturbed by the fact that these persons have not been granted access to a court to be able to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, as required by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 9)," rapporteur Leila Zerrougui said in a statement.

The other articles outlaw arbitrary arrest and detention, guarantee a fair and public hearing by an independent tribunal.