UNITED NATIONS: The United States must rise to meet the high human rights standards it has set for itself and others around the world, a group of United Nations human rights experts said on Wednesday.

They called on President Barack Obama to support “the fullest possible release” of a report detailing the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) interrogation practices.

In an open letter to Mr. Obama, the six UN rights experts said that much depended on how the president handles the stalemated issue of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s CIA report, stressing that the stakes were “very high” as his decision would have “far-reaching consequences for victims of human rights violations everywhere and for the credibility of the United States”.

“As a nation that has publicly affirmed its belief that respect for truth advances respect for the rule of law, and as a nation that frequently calls for transparency and accountability in other countries, the United States must rise to meet the standards it has set both for itself and for others,” the experts stressed.

“Victims of torture and human rights defenders around the world will be emboldened if you take a strong stand in support of transparency.

“On the contrary, if you yield to the CIA’s demands for continued secrecy on this issue, those resisting accountability will surely misuse this decision to bolster their own agenda in their countries.”

Launched in 2009, the Senate committee’s investigation lasted four years during which millions of pages of CIA documents and emails centring on the agency’s interrogation techniques were examined.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2014