A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 (b) JUA 3/11/2015 Case No: MMR 10/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the enforced disappearance of two human rights defenders, Mr. Tang Zhishun and Xing Qingxian; and the house arrest of the 16 year old son of a detained human rights defender 365. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Myanmar has not replied to the present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council Resolution 25/13. 366. The Special Rapporteur would like to remind the State that prolonged incommunicado detention can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment as stated in the paragraph 27 of General Assembly Resolution 68/156. He urges the Government of 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). 367. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and thus, that the Government of Myanmar, by failing to protect the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Tang Zhishun and Xing Qingxian, including by subjecting them to enforced disappearance and prolonged incommunicado detention, has violated their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as codified in the articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. Nauru (Republic of) (a) JAL 12/11/2015 Case No. NRU 2/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning undue restrictions, harassment, and reprisals against asylum seekers defending their rights and the rights of other detained asylum seekers from within the detention facilities; as well as against human rights defenders and journalists who are documenting and reporting on the conditions of detention and ill-treatment in these centres, which may amount to torture. 368. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Nauru 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. 369. In his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), the Special Rapporteur defined solitary confinement, in accordance with the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of 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 (in excess of 15 days under conditions of total isolation) or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State, as it may cause severe mental and physical pain or suffering, a point which has been reiterated in paragraph 28 of the General Assembly resolution 68/156. Prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement runs afoul of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 370. Furthermore, due to the detainee’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. 371. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link 64