• “Solitary confinement must never be used. It segregates persons with serious or
acute illness and leaves them without constant attention and access to medical
service. It should be differentiated from medical isolation. Medical isolation
requires daily monitoring with the presence of trained medical staff and must
not deprive the person of contact with others provided that proper precautions
are taken. Any isolation has to be made for the shortest possible period of time,
recorded precisely and be subject to administrative accountability, including
independent complaint mechanisms and judicial review.” [10]
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, observations on the
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (20 November 2013)
• “Detention conditions should never amount to creating increased suffering to
inmates with disabilities. In no case should the disability entail added forms of
suffering for persons under detention. To avoid this violation of law, priority
should be given to the dignity of the individual and to the preservation of their
autonomy in relation to the kind of disability he or she has.” [6]
• “On the issue of solitary confinement it should never be used on a person with
disability, in particular with a psychosocial disability or if there is danger for the
person’s health in general.” [12]
Women
Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, U.N. Doc. A/68/295 (9 August 2013) (Juan
Mendez)
• “… the [Standard Minimum] Rules should explicitly prohibit the imposition
of solitary confinement of any duration for…pregnant women, women with
infants and breastfeeding mothers … .” [61]
United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial
Measures for Women Offenders (2010) (The Bangkok Rules)
• Rule 22: “Punishment by close confinement or disciplinary segregation shall not
be applied to pregnant women, women with infants and breastfeeding mothers
in prison.”
• Rule 23: “Disciplinary sanctions for women prisoners shall not include a
prohibition of family contact, especially with children.”
• Rule 24: “Instruments of restraint shall never be used on women during labour,
during birth and immediately after birth.”
• Rule 41: “The gender-sensitive risk assessment and classification of prisoners
shall:
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