A/64/215 Interim report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Summary In the present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/166, the Special Rapporteur addresses issues of special concern to him, in particular overall trends and developments with respect to questions falling within his mandate. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the General Assembly to his assessment that conditions of detention in most parts of the world do not respect the dignity of detainees and therefore fail to live up to international standards. He distinguishes among three categories of human rights of detainees, namely certain rights, which detainees have forfeited as a result of their lawful deprivation of liberty; relative rights, which may be restricted for justified reasons; and absolute rights, which detainees enjoy in full equality with other human beings. In section IV, the Special Rapporteur shares some observations regarding children in detention. He expresses his concern that too many children are still deprived of their liberty, in spite of the existence of clear norms at the international level. He recalls that, if the detention of children is indispensable, conditions must adequately address their particular needs, including education, recreation and vocational training. 2 09-43792