&37*HQHUDO5HSRUW &RQFOXVLRQ 64. The aim of the CPT in setting out these standards is to minimise the use of solitary confinement in prisons, not only because of the mental, somatic and social damage it can do to prisoners but also given the opportunity it can provide for the deliberate infliction of ill-treatment. The CPT considers that solitary confinement should only be imposed in exceptional circumstances, as a last resort and for the shortest possible time. Prisoners undergoing solitary confinement should be accommodated in decent conditions. Further, the measure should involve the minimum restrictions on prisoners consistent with its objective and the prisoner’s behaviour, and should always be accompanied by strenuous efforts on the part of staff to resolve the underlying issues. More specifically, regimes in solitary confinement should be as positive as possible and directed at addressing the factors which have made the measure necessary. In addition, legal and practical safeguards need to be built into decision-making processes in relation to the imposition and review of solitary confinement. Ensuring that solitary confinement is always a proportionate response to difficult situations in prisons will promote positive staff-prisoner interaction and limit the damage done to the very persons who are often already among the most disturbed members of the inmate population.