A/HRC/25/60/Add.2 detainees held by ODA 3124 were mistreated, harassed and beaten while in custody. The US military reportedly opened a criminal investigation into these allegations, but numerous key witnesses had not yet been questioned by investigators. The Special Rapporteur reminds the Government that article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions provides that in non-international armed conflicts, all persons not taking an active part in hostilities, including persons in custody, shall be treated humanely. Additionally, article 3 of the UDHR and article 6(1) of the ICCPR guarantee the right of every individual to life and security and provide that these rights shall be protected by law and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. The Special Rapporteur also reiterates that paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 “condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment… and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Furthermore, the Customary Rules compiled by the ICRC and the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law require states to investigate and respond to grave breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law. Similarly, articles 7 and 12 of the Convention against Torture require States to conduct prompt and impartial investigations where there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed and to prosecute suspected perpetrators. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur concludes that the victims’ rights under international standards relating to the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, as well as other standards of international human rights and humanitarian law, have been violated. The Special Rapporteur calls on the US Government to undertake a prompt, independent, and effective investigation of the facts, leading to the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators, to provide full redress to the victims and their family members, and to undertake effective measures to prevent the recurrence of these acts. (j) AL 29/11/2013 Case No. USA 18/2013 State Reply: None to date Alleged prolonged solitary confinement of detainee in New York state prisons. 177. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the United States has not responded to this communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council. The communication referred to detainee Mr. William Blake, who has been held in indefinite isolation under “administrative segregation” for 26 years in a New York state prison. Mr. Blake is allegedly allowed only one hour of recreation per day in an empty space surrounded by concrete walls on three sides. New York State allegedly places no upper limit on the length of administrative segregation terms. The US Federal Government reportedly has oversight of state and local detention practices, and seeks to enforce federal safeguards against solitary confinement abuses. The Special Rapporteur stresses that under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture, each government has the obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all persons. Paragraph 6 of General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee provides that solitary confinement may amount to torture or ill treatment under article of the ICCPR. The Special Rapporteur stressed in his 2011 thematic report to the UN General Assembly that where the physical conditions and the prison regime of solitary confinement cause severe mental and physical pain or suffering, when used as a punishment, during pretrial detention, indefinitely, prolonged on juveniles or persons with mental disabilities, it can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and even torture under CAT, ICCPR and other international standards. According to the Special Rapporteur’s report, prolonged solitary confinement in excess of 15 days can cause irreversible psychological damage on the detainee. Without any evidence to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur determines that the rights of the detainee mentioned above have been violated 130