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Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 88j
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to:] Actively engage with the open-ended intergovernmental Expert Group on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners established by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, to exchange information on good practices and challenges with a view to ensuring that the revised Rules reflect the recent advances in correctional science and best practices and to implement the Rules at the national level.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Ensure that the fundamental principles of investigation, such as competence, impartiality, independence, promptness and thoroughness are enshrined in legislation and officially recognized among relevant departments and personnel, including prosecutors, defence attorneys, judges, law enforcement, prison and military personnel, forensic and health professionals and those responsible for detainee health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur reiterates that solitary confinement should be used only in very exceptional circumstances, as a last resort, for as short a time as possible. He emphasizes that when solitary confinement is used in exceptional circumstances, minimum procedural safeguards must be followed. These safeguards reduce the chances that the use of solitary confinement will be arbitrary or excessive, as in the case of prolonged or indefinite confinement. They are all the more important in circumstances of detention where due process protections are often limited, as in administrative immigration detention. Minimum procedural safeguards should be interpreted in a manner that provides the greatest possible protection of the rights of detained individuals. In this context, the Special Rapporteur urges States to apply the following guiding principles and procedural safeguards.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 72b
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations regarding capacity-building and training:] Enhance the skills of health and legal professionals on the effective medical documentation of torture and other ill-treatment through training on the use of the Istanbul Protocol and other relevant materials to forensic pathologists, medico-legal officers, general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, Ministry of Health officials and social workers; as well as lawyers, State investigators, prosecutors, judges, prison officials, police officers, immigration officers, NGO activists, members of national human rights commissions and similar bodies, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the worldwide prison population, placing an enormous financial burden on States. It is estimated that there are over 10 million prisoners in the world, and prison populations are growing on all five continents. Imprisonment has become an almost automatic response rather than a last resort, as mirrored in increasing and disproportionate penalization, excessive use of pretrial detention, increased length of prison sentences and little use of non-custodial alternatives (see General Assembly resolution 45/110, annex). Furthermore, the penitentiary system in most countries is no longer aimed at the reformation and social rehabilitation of convicts but simply aims to punish by locking offenders away. Non-compliance with international standards in relation to conditions of detention is caused by resource constraints and by the punitive approach of most criminal justice systems. Corruption too clearly plays a negative role (see A/64/215 and Corr.1, para. 80).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- States should take necessary steps to put an end to the practice of solitary confinement in pretrial detention. The use of solitary confinement as an extortion technique during pretrial detention should be abolished. States should adopt effective measures at the pretrial stage to improve the efficiency of investigation and introduce alternative control measures in order to segregate individuals, protect ongoing investigations, and avoid detainee collusion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 77f
- Paragraph text
- [In building upon the general recommendations elaborated by his distinguished predecessor, Theo van Boven, in 2003, the Special Rapporteur wishes to particularly stress the following recommendations:] In the fight against terrorism and other forms of organized crime, States should keep in mind the absolute and non-derogable nature of the prohibition of torture. In particular, detention in secret places of detention, the expulsion or "rendition" of terrorist suspects to countries known for their practice of torture, the use of diplomatic assurances from these Governments not to torture as a means of circumventing the principle of non-refoulement, "enhanced interrogation techniques" aimed at inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on detainees for the purpose of extracting intelligence information and similar practices in the global fight against terrorism are absolutely prohibited under international law and shall immediately be terminated. After all, torture, as the ultimate form of power exercised by one individual over another individual in a powerless situation, constitutes a direct attack on the personal integrity, dignity and humanity of human beings and is, therefore, for sound philosophical and historical reasons, absolutely prohibited under international law even in the most extreme and exceptional circumstances, such as war or terrorism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Medical personnel should additionally inspect the physical conditions of the inmate's confinement in accordance with article 26 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Relevant considerations include the level of hygiene and cleanliness of the facility and the inmate, heating, lighting and ventilation of the cell, suitability of clothing and bedding, adequate supply of food and water and observance of the rules concerning physical exercise.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 72d
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to abuses in health-care settings, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Guarantee immediate and unconditional treatment of persons seeking emergency medical care, including as a result of illegal abortion;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 86b
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to conditions during detention, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all States:] To consider case-by-case assessment to decide whether it is appropriate for a particular inmate to be transferred to an adult institution after reaching the age of majority;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 86e
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to conditions during detention, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all States:] To prohibit corporal punishment;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 72c
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to abuses in health-care settings, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Set forth clear guidance on implementing domestic abortion legislation and ensure that it is interpreted broadly; and monitor the practical implementation of legislation to ensure that persons are provided the right to legal services in practice;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- There is a pressing need to step up the overall involvement of forensic medical science across the various sectors of the criminal justice cycle, and where persons are at particular risk, including administrative, pretrial and juvenile detention and psychiatric institutions. If police officers, prison wardens, hospital administrators, prosecutors and judges were under a legal obligation to request proper forensic medical examinations as a standard procedure whenever there are suspicions or allegations of torture or other ill-treatment, victims would be in a considerably stronger position. In addition to their role in prosecution, forensic medical services can also play a transforming role in prevention. As required in the Body of Principles and expanded in the standard-setting Istanbul Protocol, routine medical examinations of detainees after admission to every place of detention create a system of "checkpoints" that minimizes the number of unaccounted cases of torture and renders impossible a shifting of blame and accountability among various detention facilities and authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 80c
- Paragraph text
- [Whether or not a customary norm prohibiting the death penalty has crystallized, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all retentionist States to observe rigorously the restrictions and conditions imposed by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 1 or article 16 of the Convention against Torture. The Special Rapporteur calls upon retentionist States:] To refrain from carrying out executions in public or in any other degrading manner; end the practice of secret executions; and end the practice of executions with little or no prior warning given to condemned prisoners and their families;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 88e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to:] Endeavour to reduce pretrial detention and undertake comprehensive justice reforms with a view to enhance the use of alternatives to pretrial detention and custodial sentences;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- In 1993, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the British House of Lords took the approach that length of time is the sole factor in constituting cruel or inhuman punishment. The case of Pratt and Morgan v. Jamaica created a presumption that spending more than five years on death row met the criteria necessary for a finding of death row phenomenon. The Privy Council's reasoning was that the domestic appeals process should take approximately two years and an appeal to an international body should take approximately 18 months. By combining the two, and adding an appropriate amount of time for reasonable delay, the Court was able to come up with a timetable of five years. In a number of cases, the Privy Council relied on the five-year principle as a guide. In Guerra v. Baptiste (1996), it found that four years and ten months under sentence of death, as a result of factors beyond the prisoner's control, constituted the death row phenomenon and therefore a violation. In Henfield v. Bahamas (1997), three and a half years was deemed an appropriate time limit. Similarly, in the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court of Uganda in January 2009, the Court held that to execute a person after a delay of three years in conditions that were not acceptable by Ugandan standards would amount to cruel, inhuman punishment. With regard to the reasons for the delay, the Privy Council found that delay inappropriately caused by the prisoner could not be used to the advantage of the inmate but where a State caused the delay, it was logical to hold the State responsible for violating the prisoner's rights. However, where delay was caused by a prisoner exercising his legitimate right to appeal, the fault was to be attributed to the appellate system that permitted such delay and not to the prisoner who took advantage of it. The Privy Council recognized that a prisoner would cling to any hope in order to protect his or her life, and that such human instinct could not be treated as a prisoner's fault. The European Court went even further and took the position that even if the delay was the result of the inmate's actions, he or she was not to be blamed for pursuing life as the fact remained that individuals were pursuing life under death row conditions with mounting tension over their own death.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Prolonged delay is, however, only one cause of the death row phenomenon and, considered alone, may be harmful to a prisoner's rights. This approach risks conveying a message to States parties to carry out a capital sentence as expeditiously as possible after it is imposed. The Human Rights Committee declined to find that delay alone is enough to warrant a finding of death row phenomenon and a violation based on torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. Consequently, even in cases of detention on death row for more than 10 years, the Committee maintained its previous practice of not finding a violation of article 7 of the Covenant unless such detention was aggravated by particularly harsh prison conditions. However, prolonged detention, as with any other delay in the process, must be subject to judicial review and the highest standards of regular review must be applied. Medical assistance and psychological follow-up should also be considered. It is the combined deprivation of basic human rights on death row which amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment or even torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Many countries fail to make adequate arrangements for the supply of these medications. Low- and middle-income countries account for 6 per cent of morphine use worldwide while having about half of all cancer patients and 95 per cent of all new HIV infections. Thirty-two countries in Africa have almost no morphine available at all. In the United States, over a third of patients are not adequately treated for pain. In France, a study found that doctors underestimated pain in over half of their AIDS patients. In India, more than half of the country's regional cancer centres do not have morphine or doctors trained in using it. This is despite the fact that 70 per cent or more of their patients have advanced cancer and are likely to require pain treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- The mandate has noted that "members of sexual minorities are disproportionately subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment because they fail to conform to socially constructed gender expectations. Indeed, discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity may often contribute to the process of the dehumanization of the victim, which is often a necessary condition for torture and ill-treatment to take place." "Medically worthless" practices of subjecting men suspected of homosexual conduct to non-consensual anal examinations to "prove" their homosexuality have been condemned by the Committee against Torture, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which have held that the practice contravenes the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment (A/HRC/19/41, para. 37).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Torture, ill-treatment and coercion during interviews/ Universal protocol for non-coercive, ethically sound, evidence-based and empirically founded interviewing practices 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- As a matter of best practice, interviewers are encouraged to proceed, when necessary, with probing questions designed to elicit information that will test all possible alternative explanations identified during the preparation of the interview. Strategic probing and disclosure of potential evidence allows officers to explore the interviewee's account in depth before proceeding to the next topic, helping to ensure that the presumption of innocence is respected while strengthening the case against a guilty suspect by preventing the subsequent fabrication of an alibi. Although interviewers may be persistent with their line of questioning when probing the interviewee's account, questioning must never become unfair or oppressive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The Court has also made numerous findings of inhuman or degrading treatment in cases involving the unnecessary or excessive use of force in the context of demonstrations. In Abdullah Yasa and Others v. Turkey, the Court found the launch of a tear gas grenade along a direct flat trajectory aimed towards protestors to be contrary to article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights because it was not “proportionate to the aim pursued, namely to disperse a non-peaceful gathering” and because the severity of the resulting injuries to the applicant’s head were not “commensurate with the strict use by the police officers of the force necessitated by his behaviour”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Year
- 2017
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- It should be noted that the above-mentioned principles govern the use of force, not only in extra-custodial settings, but also where riots, unrest or other violent incidents occur within places of detention. Depending on the circumstances, they may also be relevant in determining the permissibility of invasive health and security procedures, such as the taking of bodily samples or a strip search. In their relations with persons deprived of their liberty, law enforcement officials may not use force, except when strictly necessary for the maintenance of security and order within the institution or when personal safety is threatened, and they may not use firearms, except in self-defence or in the defence of others against the immediate threat of death or serious injury or when strictly necessary to prevent the escape of an inmate presenting a threat of death or serious injury.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Year
- 2017
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- According to the European Court of Human Rights, States should also take steps to reduce the negative impact of solitary confinement. Where the damaging effects of solitary confinement on a particular individual are known, the regime cannot continue. The conditions of confinement are relevant in this respect, because where conditions are beyond reproach, the Court considers it unlikely that the minimum threshold of severity to find a violation of article 3 will be reached. Routine examination by doctors can be a factor in determining that there was no violation of article 3.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment from an extraterritorial perspective 2015, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The European Court of Human Rights also recognizes that States are responsible for the physical and mental integrity of persons under their authority, power or control, finding that States' responsibilities "may arise in respect of acts and events [taking place] outside [their] frontiers" and due to the acts of their agents, "whether performed within or outside national boundaries, which produce effects outside their own territory" (Loizidou v. Turkey; mutatis mutandis, M v. Denmark). Such scenarios recognized by the Court include the "exercise [of] authority and control over individuals killed in the course" of security operations by one State on the territory of another State (Al-Skeini v. The United Kingdom); the handover of individuals to the custody of a State's agents abroad (Öcalan v. Turkey); the interception and imposition of control over a ship (and persons therein) in international waters (Jamaa and others v. Italy); the detention of individuals in prisons operated or controlled by the State party abroad (Al-Saadoon and Mufdhi v. The United Kingdom); exercise of control over an area outside national territory as a consequence of military action (Hassan v. The United Kingdom); or the exercise of physical control over an individual, including outside formal detention facilities (Issa and others v. Turkey). Whenever a State exercises control over an individual extraterritorially through its agents, it must secure the substantive rights and freedoms under the Convention that are relevant to the situation of that individual (Al-Skeini).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment from an extraterritorial perspective 2015, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur regrets evidence that States have employed restrictive doctrines, such as State secrets and political questions doctrines, in both territorial and extraterritorial contexts, in an effort to obstruct prosecution and evade responsibility (El-Masri v. The United States), and reminds States that competent courts in States parties to the Convention are obligated to exercise jurisdiction over acts of torture and ill-treatment, irrespective of the locus where wrongfulness took place. This obligation should also encompass situations wherein a State may be held responsible for its failure to pre-empt or remedy illicit conduct not directly attributable to it, such as when it failed to meet its due diligence obligations to prevent and protect persons from grave violations of human rights. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands recognized in the Dutch battalion case that the State was responsible for the deaths of three men at Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, by failing to shield the victims when they sought refuge in a Dutch compound over which the State exercised "effective control" - defined as "factual control over specific conduct" - under article 8 of the draft articles on the responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the indication that States are not simply required to abstain from causing prohibited acts but are obligated, to the extent possible, to fight wrongfulness, including through investigation and prosecution of torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In 1990, the General Assembly adopted resolution 45/111, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners. Principle 7 states that efforts to abolish solitary confinement as a punishment, or to restrict its use, should be undertaken and encouraged.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- There is no international standard for the permitted maximum overall duration of solitary confinement. In A.B. v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights held that detaining an individual in solitary confinement for three years constituted a violation of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. By contrast, in the United States of America, it is reported that two prisoners have been held in solitary confinement in a Louisiana prison for 40 years after failed attempts at judicial appeal of the conditions of their confinement. As explained in paragraph 26 above, the Special Rapporteur finds that solitary confinement exceeding 15 days is prolonged.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Other harsh conditions currently employed on death rows throughout the world may themselves constitute violations of the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the living condition of inmates on death row in terms of visits and correspondence, cell size, food, exercise, extreme temperatures, lack of ventilation, and lack of time outside of cells as constituting violations of articles 7 and 10 of the Covenant. The Special Rapporteur's predecessor, in the report on his visit to Mongolia, declared that physical conditions on Mongolia's death row alone might be so poor as to amount to cruel treatment (see E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.4).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Health
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- If a commission of inquiry precedes formal criminal prosecutions, or the two mechanisms exist simultaneously, care must be taken to ensure that the work of the commission does not inhibit prosecutions in any way. In establishing an international commission of inquiry to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the Secretary-General agreed that the international commission should be fact-finding in nature and not be a criminal investigation; the duty of carrying out a criminal investigation, finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice, remains with the competent Pakistani authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, given that safeguards are particularly undermined when the detained persons are held in incommunicado or secret detention, the Rules should place an obligation on prison authorities to ensure that persons deprived of liberty are held in officially recognized and accessible places of detention. Police station chiefs and investigating officers should be held criminally accountable for any unacknowledged custody in cases where their responsibility, including command responsibility, has been established. The Special Rapporteur recalls that whether detention is secret or not is determined by its incommunicado character and by the fact that State authorities do not disclose the place of detention or information about the fate of the detainee (see A/HRC/13/42, paras. 8-10).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph