3. INCIDENT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE 04 The use of instruments of restraint must be regulated and carefully monitored because of the high risk of humiliation, pain, torture, other ill‑treatment or other potentially irreversible harm that prisoners may suffer as a result of such instruments being used on them. 05 Some instruments of restraint are inherently degrading or painful, while others pose a risk of injury depending on why and how they are used. If such instruments are applied deliberately to inflict pain or suffering, this constitutes torture. 06 Instruments of restraint that are not considered to be inherently degrading or painful may, nevertheless, be humiliating for the person concerned, or can be applied in ways that are unnecessarily painful. It should also be noted that restraints may be more painful or humiliating to some prisoners than others. 07 In a well-managed prison, the use of instruments of restraint should be the exception and not the rule. Their regular and systematic use can create tension and distrust between staff and prisoners, and accentuate the power imbalance within detention facilities. Fair and transparent procedures for using force enable prisoners to understand when and under which circumstances restraints can be used. 08 Alternatives to restraints are not only more humane; they may also be more effective in the long-term and are likely to contribute to more positive prisoner-staff relations. PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE 09 The prohibition of the use of chains, leg-irons or other instruments of restraint that are inherently degrading or painful derives from the general prohibition of torture and other ill‑treatment. The use of such instruments is absolutely prohibited and can never be justified by arguments of necessity or proportionality. 10 The list of prohibited items in Rule 47(1) is illustrative rather than comprehensive. The Rules do not attempt to provide a full list of prohibited items because different technology is used in different countries, and because the list would quickly be out-of-date due to the rapid development of new technologies. The Rules note that there are also other instruments of restraint that are inherently degrading or painful but that are not specifically mentioned in Rule 47(1). “[I]nherently degrading or painful restraints” has been interpreted to encompass, for example, the equipment and their use, described below.165 3 Prohibited instruments of restraint CONTEXT: PROHIBITED MEANS OF RESTRAINT [3.2] The following restraints have been found to be inhuman or degrading166: –W  eighted restraints. The UN Special Rapporteur on torture has noted that the practice of applying leg-irons weighing approximately 3 kilograms, 24 hours per day is inhuman and degrading.167 In the context of a prohibition in trade of goods that could be used for torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the European Union (EU) has banned weighted leg restraints, stating that they are likely to cause severe pain or suffering.168 –R  estraints that have a fixed, rigid bar between cuffs. For example, leg restraints that have “an iron bar riveted (...) to shackles, keeping the prisoner’s legs permanently apart at the bar’s length” have been described as inherently inhuman and degrading” by the UN Special Rapporteur on torture.169 165. Monitoring Weapons and Restraints in Places of Detention: A Practical Guide, Omega Research Foundation, 2018. 166. For more information see also: A Visual Guide to Military, Security and Police Equipment Prohibited or Controlled by the EU Torture Trade Regulation, Council Regulation (EC) 1236/2005, Omega Research Foundation, 2017. 167. UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Report Mission to China, 10 March 2006, E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6, Commission on Human Rights 62nd session, p. 44. 168. Commission Implementing Regulation No 775/2014 amending council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005, European Union, 16 July 2014, para. 6. 169. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Study on the situation of trade in and production of equipment which is specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, its origin, destination and forms, 13 January 2003, E/CN.4/2003/69, para. 9. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 81