Although speculation regarding harsh interrogation tactics employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been at the forefront of news coverage for some time, last Tuesday, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the “torture report,” which confirmed that the “enhanced interrogation techniques” employed after Sept. 11, 2014, during the Bush administration were “ineffective” and more brutal than the public was initially led to believe. In addition, the report reveals that the CIA deliberately misled congress and the White House about the quantity and quality of information obtained through the use of these techniques.

In response, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on counter terrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson, issued a statement calling for the prosecution of CIA officers and other government officials who participated in these “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

“As a matter of international law, the US is legally obliged to bring those responsible to justice. The UN Convention Against Torture and the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances require States to prosecute acts of torture and enforced disappearance where there is sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction,” said Emmerson in the brief statement.

Emmerson concluded that torture is a crime of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to try cases of crimes against humanity even if these crimes are not committed within the nation’s borders.

The United Nations has maintained a firm stance on the use harsh interrogation techniques since information about the CIA’s tactics was leaked in 2007. Just last month, the United Nations’ Committee Against Torture found that the United States violated certain aspects of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment international treaty, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1984. The committee’s report stated, “U.S. personnel are legally prohibited under international and domestic law from engaging in torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment at all times, and in all places.”

The Department of Justice has yet to respond to allegations that CIA officials violated international law. In 2012, however, after four years of investigation, assistant US attorney John Durham decided not to charge CIA officials involved with these “enhanced interrogation techniques.” In his court declaration, Durham stated that he “[evaluated] facts, statements and testimony of witnesses, and other evidence as they related to the criminal investigation…[and] assessed the admissibility of the evidence in judicial proceedings and identified other strengths and weaknesses associated with the evidence.”

Similarly, the Department of Justice issued a statement alongside the release of the Senate’s “torture report,” stating that “[previous] review generated two criminal investigations, but the Department of Justice ultimately declined those cases for prosecution, because the admissible evidence would not be sufficient to obtain and sustain convictions beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The Department of Justice also stated that the full version of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report did not present any information that had not been considered during the four year criminal investigation.

Despite the Department of Justice’s findings, political groups throughout the United States continue to debate whether officials associated with these “enhanced interrogation techniques” should face criminal charges.