On December 9, 2014, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report entitled, “Committee Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program: Findings and Conclusions” (the Report).  The Report found that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had, among other things, used enhanced interrogation techniques that were ineffective while also withholding information regarding the severity of interrogation activities from the U.S. government and the media.  After the Report’s release, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez issued a statement welcoming the Report, saying that it was “a first step in the direction of fulfilling other US obligations under Convention against Torture [and the U.S. should continue to] combat impunity and ensure accountability, by investigating and prosecuting those responsible.”  According to a news article, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter Terrorism Ben Emmerson stated that the U.S. is “under a legal obligation to reopen the inquiries into prosecution for those who perpetrated these crimes and those who ordered and authorised them.”