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Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has noted that inappropriate conditions of detention, including conditions characterized by structural deprivation and the non-fulfilment of rights necessary for a humane and dignified existence, amount to a systematic practice of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (E/CN.4/2004/56, para. 41, and A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, para. 230). A considerable amount of jurisprudence at the international and regional levels has also consistently found that conditions of detention can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. Overcrowding, lack of ventilation, poor sanitary conditions, prolonged isolation, the holding of suspects incommunicado, frequent transfers from one prison to another, the non-separation of different categories of prisoners, the holding of persons with disabilities in environments that include areas inaccessible to them and the holding of persons without means of communication could constitute or lead to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture. The Rules could benefit from adhering to the requirement established by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding services in places of detention (see general comment No. 19 of the Committee, especially paras. 1, 9, 31 and 46).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The death row phenomenon is a relatively new concept, albeit one that has become firmly established in international jurisprudence. It consists of a combination of circumstances that produce severe mental trauma and physical deterioration in prisoners under sentence of death. Those circumstances include the lengthy and anxiety-ridden wait for uncertain outcomes, isolation, drastically reduced human contact and even the physical conditions in which some inmates are held. Death row conditions are often worse than those for the rest of the prison population, and prisoners on death row are denied many basic human necessities. Examples of current death row conditions around the world include solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day in small, cramped, airless cells, often under extreme temperatures; inadequate nutrition and sanitation arrangements; limited or non-existent contact with family members and/or lawyers; excessive use of handcuffs or other types of shackles or restraints; physical or verbal abuse; lack of appropriate health care (physical and mental); and denial of access to books, newspapers, exercise, education, employment, or other types of prison activity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 70l
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in detention, the Special Rapporteur calls on all States to:] Ensure adequate sanitation standards and provide for facilities and materials that meet women's specific hygiene needs, such as sanitary towels at no cost, and clean water, including during transport;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 58
- Paragraph text
- Unsanitary and unsafe conditions may also lead to a violation of the prohibition of ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur observes that overcrowding is present in many institutions, leading to severe constraints on institutional resources, shortages of adequate food, clean drinking water, bedding and medical care. Overcrowding also increases the risk of disease transmission and infection. Furthermore, adults and children are often not segregated in institutional facilities, leading to issues of exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 61
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- In addition, many child migrants suffer appalling and inhuman conditions while detained including overcrowding, inappropriate food, insufficient access to drinking water, unsanitary conditions, lack of adequate medical attention, and irregular access to washing and sanitary facilities and to hygiene products, lack of appropriate accommodation and other basic necessities. In some cases, detention centres refuse to keep migrant children with their families also being detained, and have denied migrant children's right to communicate with their families. Such practices effectively isolate child detainees from social support groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Of particular concern are a lack of specialist care, including access to gynaecologists and obstetric health-care professionals; discriminatory access to services like harm-reduction programmes; lack of private spaces for medical examinations and confidentiality; poor treatment by prison health staff; failures in diagnosis, medical neglect and denial of medicines, including for chronic and degenerative illnesses; and reportedly higher rates of transmission of diseases such as HIV among female detainees. The absence of gender-specific health care in detention can amount to ill-treatment or, when imposed intentionally and for a prohibited purpose, to torture. States' failure to ensure adequate hygiene and sanitation and to provide appropriate facilities and materials can also amount to ill-treatment or even torture. It is essential to engage in capacity-building and adequate training for detention centre staff and health-care personnel with a view to identifying and addressing women's specific health-care and hygiene needs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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