A/79/181 Emirates, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. These countries represent a fraction of the States in which this type of repression takes place. The use of “hostage-diplomacy” is also troubling and will be an ongoing focus for the mandate. The Special Rapporteur has intervened on behalf of Ryan Corbett, a citizen of the United States detained in Afghanistan. 13 13. As noted in the recent report by the Special Rapporteur on global prison conditions (A/HRC/55/52), far too many people are imprisoned, for too long, in severely overcrowded facilities in all regions. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned by indeterminate sentences for public protection that were introduced, then disbanded, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland yet continue to affect thousands and result in psychological torture. 14 The incoming Government must end this injustice. The Supreme Court ruled in Brazil on the widespread violation of fundamental rights in prisons and the Special Rapporteur urges the Government to swiftly draw -up the required nationwide action plan to end abuses.15 She welcomes the decision by the Australian Federal Police to stop using inhuman spit hoods on detainees. 16 She also acknowledges the arrest of 13 prison guards in Milan, Italy on charges of torture in juvenile centres. 17 She shares the concerns of the Committee Against Torture of the treaty between Denmark and Kosovo to outpost foreign prisoners in Kosovo. 18 14. Women and girls remain at heightened risk of severe and gender-specific forms of torture and other ill-treatment. Their near total exclusion from public life in Afghanistan heightens the risk they face of violence. In Gaza, military strikes by Israel have destroyed the capacity to provide adequate medical care for mothers giving birth. 19 Reproductive restrictions continue in the United States where 14 states have criminalized abortion. 20 The decision of the United States Senate to block the federal right to contraception access is regrettable. 15. Death row has long been characterized as a form of inhuman treatment. Serious allegations were received about executions in Afghanistan, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen. The execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama in the United States with experimental nitrogen gas inhalation was a horrific development. 21 The Special Rapporteur welcomed the decision of the Iranian courts to overturn the death penalty for rapper Toomaj Salehi, though he remains in detention and ought to be released. 22 The reinstatement of the death penalty in the Congo, after two decades, is a step back. 23 16. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the prohibition on refoulement is not being respected. She is concerned about plans of returning Syrians to the Syrian Arab __________________ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 4/21 See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/afghanistan-detained-american-aidworkers-life-risk-if-no-urgent-medical. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/uk-un-torture-expert-calls-urgent-reviewover-2000-prison-tariffs-under. See https://www.cnj.jus.br/sistema-carcerario/plano-pena-justa/. See https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/commission-welcomes-banning-spithoods-afp. “Italy arrests 13 prison guards over suspected torture of juvenile detainees” Reuters, 22 April 2024. Committee against Torture, Concluding observations on the eighth periodic report of Denmark, CAT/C/DNK/CO/8, 8 December 2023, para. 16. See https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145317. Lift Louisiana, Physicians for Human Rights, Reproductive Health Impact, and the Center for Reproductive Rights, Criminalized Care: How Louisiana’s Abortion Bans Endanger Patients and Clinicians. March, 2024. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/01/united-states-un-experts-horrified-kennethsmiths-execution-nitrogen-alabama. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/iran-un-experts-alarmed-death-sentenceimposed-rapper-and-songwriter-toomaj. See https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/drc-reinstating-executions-shows-a-callousdisregard-for-human-rights/. 24-13237