that he lost consciousness and one side of his face subsequently remained paralyzed for 10 days.413 222. ODIHR considers that such practices contravene the prohibition of torture or ill-treatment as understood by international law.414 They appear to have been inflicted intentionally by government officials in order to extract a confession, obtain information or punish detainees.415 Several of the techniques, at minimum, were reportedly perceived by the detainees as a source of severe pain or suffering.416 Detainees’ treatment ultimately led to the deterioration of their mental health, reportedly placing them “under a constant state of stress, [suffering] from garbled conversation, disorientation, hallucination, irritability, anger, delusions, and sometimes paranoia”.417 Former detainees interviewed by ODIHR also mentioned sustaining physical injuries from their treatment in detention, including with long term consequences.418 223. Additionally, depriving Guantánamo detainees of access to their basic rights and needs over a prolonged period of time violated their right to be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human being.419 As the techniques were specifically aimed at causing stress and pressuring detainees into obtaining their co-operation, ODIHR concludes that these restrictive and punitive conditions of detention, combined with the use of prolonged solitary confinement, caused severe psychological or physical pain or suffering to the detainees and amounted to cruel or inhuman treatment.420 224. ODIHR welcomes the commitment of the current administration to respect the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment,421 and notes that the 2009 review of the conditions of confinement at Guantánamo, known as the Walsh Report, concluded that detention conditions were in conformity with Common Article 3.422 However, it is concerned that any executive order, including Executive Order 13491, can be rescinded or overridden by subsequent administrations.423 Furthermore, concurring testimonies and reports lead 413 ODIHR interview with Mustafa Ait Idir and Hajj Boudella, ibid. See, also, UN Special Procedures, “Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay”, op. cit., note 23, paras. 51-54. 415 Ibid., para. 51. 416 Ibid., para. 52. 417 Break Them Down: Systematic Use of Psychological Torture by US Forces (Cambridge: Physicians for Human Rights, 2005), p. 52, <http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/physicians_for_human_rights>. 418 ODIHR interview with David Hicks, op. cit., note 228; ODIHR interview with Mustafa Ait Idir and Hajj Boudella, op. cit., note 217. 419 See, also, UN Special Procedures, “Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay”, op. cit., note 23, para. 53. 420 Ibid. 421 Barack H. Obama, Executive Order 13491, op. cit., note 351; UN CAT, Third to fifth periodic reports of States parties due in 2011, United States of America, op. cit., note 162, para. 13; “Opening Statement, Mary E. McLeod, Acting Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, Committee Against Torture, November 12-13, 2014 – Geneva”, op. cit., note 361, p. 2. 422 “Review of Department Compliance with President’s Executive Order on Detainee Conditions of Confinement”, 2009 (hereinafter, “Walsh Report”), p. 72, <http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/review_of_department_compliance_with_presidents_executive_order_on_detainee_conditio ns_of_confinementa.pdf>. This review was conducted pursuant to Section 6 of Executive Order 13492. 423 As executive orders can be rescinded or overridden, ODIHR welcomes the Senate amendment to the NDDA for the Fiscal Year 2016, which reaffirms the prohibition of torture. At the time of writing, the 2016 NDAA had not been adopted. The bill was passed in a vote in the House (May 2015) and subsequently passed in the Senate with changes (June 2015), but has yet to be passed by both chambers in identical form. “H.R. 1735: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016”, Govtrack.us, <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr1735>; “Text of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year”, Govtrack.us, 18 June 2015, Section 1040, <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hr1735eas/pdf/BILLS-114hr1735eas.pdf>; 414 95