On May 11, the United States will go through its second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and respond to questions and recommendations put forward by UN member countries.
"The US has little progress to show for the many commitments it made during its first Universal Periodic Review," Antonio Ginatta, US advocacy director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, as quoted in a statement.
During Washington's first UN rights review in 2010, UN members raised concerns over the NSA's mass surveillance activities and more direct abuses such as detention without trial at Guantanamo Bay and torture committed during interrogations by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Earlier in March, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Hussein said that the rights abuses permitted by US officials as part of counter-terrorism activities encourage radical extremism, citing the rise of the Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist group.
Late last year, a US Senate Intelligence Committee report revealed that the CIA misinformed the US public and Senate about the violent and illegal interrogation methods used on suspected terrorists following the 9/11 attacks.
Techniques described in the report include waterboarding, mock executions, prolonged sleep deprivation, threat of sexual abuse, threats against family members, among others.
