personnel, and set acceptable minimum standards for prison design, provisions and conditions. These include the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR), discussed below, and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment7. A. International human rights instruments and bodies The International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (ICCPR) The ICCPR came into force in 1976. Its provisions are interpreted and its implementation monitored by the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC). Under Article 40 of the ICCPR, all State parties to it are required to submit a report on their compliance with the ICCPR initially upon ratification, and periodically thereafter. In addition, under the Covenant’s Optional Protocol, the Human Rights Committee may consider individual communications from nationals of signatory states to the Protocol. Two articles of the ICCPR relate directly to the treatment of prisoners and prison conditions, including solitary confinement. Article 7 of the ICCPR proclaims that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment... ”. The Human Rights Committee has interpreted Article 7 to mean8: [2] The aim of the provisions of Article 7 is to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual... [3] The text allows no limitation, even in time of public emergency...no justification or extenuating circumstances may be invoked to excuse a violation of Article 7 for any reason. [4] [The Committee] does not consider it necessary to draw up a list of prohibited acts, or to establish sharp distinction between the different kinds of punishment or treatment; the distinction depends on the nature, purpose and severity of the treatment applied. The terms cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, “should be interpreted so as to extend the widest possible protection against abuses, whether physical or mental, including the holding of a detained or imprisoned person in conditions which deprive him, temporarily or permanently, of the use of any of his natural senses, such as sight or hearing, or of his awareness of place and the passing of time” (Note to Principle 6, Body of Principles). This interpretation would apply to some uses of solitary confinement, for example in dark, windowless or soundproofed cells. In such cases, solitary confinement may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and sometimes even to torture9. Article 7 is closely linked to Article 10 of the ICCPR, which proclaims that “All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person … the penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation”. Solitary confinement, by definition, deprives the individual from human contact and social interaction, and therefore clearly runs contrary to this principle. Together, articles 7 and 10 of the ICCPR set out a blanket protection of detainees from any form of ill-treatment. The Human Rights Committee stipulated that: 4 Sourcebook on solitary confinement: Introduction