MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 17 2.2. What is meant by conditions of detention? Conditions of detention cover all aspects of the life of persons deprived of their liberty. These aspects are interdependent and must be examined in relation to each other: ■ the legal and administrative measures set and applied with a view to protecting the person, guaranteeing his or her right to life and physical and psychological integrity; ■ the legal and administrative measures of appeal available so that persons can make themselves heard and play a role in deciding their own fate; ■ the living conditions during detention; ■ the regime of detention (activities, contacts with the outside world); ■ access to medical care; ■ the organisation and handling of persons deprived of their liberty by the detaining authorities and public officials assigned these tasks. 2.3. What is meant by monitoring conditions of detention? Monitoring involves the regular examination of all aspects of detention of all or certain categories of persons deprived of their freedom in one or more places of detention. It includes the oral or written transmission of the results of the examination to the authorities concerned and, in some cases, to other players involved in the protection of persons deprived of their liberty at the national and international levels, and to the media. 1 The detention regime is defined mainly by the intensity of the security measures which are applied to persons de-prived of their liberty and determine their access to the outside world and the organisation of their daily lives. 2 Persons deprived of their liberty in the context of an international or non-international armed conflict are not considered here, that is: prisoners of war and similar detainees as well as civilian nationals of a foreign power who are interned in relation to the conflict.