A/HRC/28/68/Add.1
measure against children continues. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the steps taken to
investigate cases of ill-treatment at Sakran Juvenile Prison and prosecute alleged
perpetrators; however he regrets that, on the date of the dispatch of the reply, most
disciplinary cases against custodial officers or prison directors had been dismissed or were
still pending.
565. In his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), the
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment defined solitary confinement, in accordance with the Istanbul Statement on the
Use and Effects Solitary Confinement, as the physical and social isolation of individuals
who are confined in their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. He observed that while solitary
confinement for short periods of time may be justified under certain circumstances, with
adequate and effective safeguards in place, the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary
confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State and runs afoul of the
absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. Furthermore, due to the prisoner’s lack of communication, as well as the lack
of witnesses inside the prison, solitary confinement may also give rise to other acts of
torture or ill-treatment.
566. The Special Rapporteur recalls that when used on juveniles, pregnant women, or
people with mental disabilities (A/66/268), solitary confinement amounts to cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment or even torture, even if not used indefinitely or for a
prolonged period of time.
567. The Rapporteur concludes that the Government of Turkey, by failing to ensure the
physical and mental integrity of the juvenile offenders in detention, by subjecting them to
prolonged solitary confinement, not guaranteeing them access to health care, and not
ensuring the effective investigation and punishment of those responsible, has acted in
contravention of 12 of the CAT, and violated the right of the juvenile offenders in question
to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1
and 16 of the CAT. With regards to the present case, the Special Rapporteur recalls
paragraph 6 of General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee as well as article
7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (Adopted by the General Assembly
by resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990).
Ukraine
JUA 20/02/2014 Case No. UKR 1/2014 State Reply: None to date Allegations of excessive
use of force against, killings, injuries, enforced disappearances of, and arbitrary
arrests and detention of, largely peaceful protestors and journalists in the context of
Euromaidan (“Independence Square”) protests, which have been ongoing in Kiev and
other parts of the country since November 2013.
568. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Ukraine has not replied to the
present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human
Rights Council in its resolution 25/13, and to comply with its obligation, under
international customary law, to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as codified, inter alia, in the
Convention against Torture (CAT).
569. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is
substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, reiterated above, and
thus, that the Government of Ukraine, by failing to protect the physical and psychological
integrity of protestors and journalists during the Euromaidan protests, has violated the right
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