-59 If possible, where the NPM detected irregularities and mentioned them in the oral feedback to the prison director, it would be important to go back for a quick visit to the involved inmate to find out if there were reprisals. Of great importance is open communication with the penitentiary administration. The first form of communication takes place thanks to the recommendations that the NPM can issue at the end of each visit/ report. Some NPMs address recommendations to individual prisons, others to the head of the prison administration. This second practice has the advantage of making some changes possible in penitentiary institutions that were not visited by the NPM but which have similar or identical problems to those raised by the NPM after a specific visit. In fact, the central administration may send an order to address a specific issue to all penitentiary institution. The Rome seminar recognised the need for making ambitious but realistic recommendations in order not to seem detached from reality in front of the administration. Participants in the seminar highlighted that in cases where there is the need to address a systemic problem (e.g. the overuse of solitary confinement and the need to explore valid alternatives) and that the cooperation with the penitentiary administration is critical in these cases. In order to address systemic issues it may be effective if the NPM has an active role in the training of prison personnel. Indeed, several practices related to solitary confinement that violate human rights standards might not be the product of the legislation, but rather reflect the shared culture of the prison staff, who are often accustomed to the use of this tool and consider it a normal part of prison life instead of the exception. For a culture of human rights to flourish among prison staff - and to ensure that there is less recourse to isolation - it is necessary for (parts of) the staff to have a minimum human-rights oriented professional training. Currently, this is generally not the case: the cultural and legal background of the different components of prison staff is often highly diverse and has few or no components related to the respect of human rights. Monitoring Solitary Confinement in Prison

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