-38 the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the International Detention Coalition (IDC), 2014 • Good Practice Manual for Working with Foreign Nationals, EUROPRIS, June 2018 2.2.4. Prisoners with disabilities According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘disabilities’ is an umbrella term covering impairments (a problem in body function or structure), activity limitations (a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action), and participation restrictions (a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations). Disability is not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which they live.69 Part of the reasons why prisoners with disabilities are vulnerable in detention are the same as those grounding their vulnerability in the community. Persons with physical disabilities may have serious problems with reasonable accommodation of the physical environment and with their access to the necessary tools.70 Persons with disabilities face stigma, lack of appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation, and are sometimes subjected to violence and harassment. These factors are almost always exacerbated in detention. The physical environment of prisons is usually not suitable for persons with physical disabilities. Access to tools is usually more difficult in the prison, and the treatment of persons with mental disabilities is - as a rule - much harsher in detention. Overall, the prison environment usually exacerbates poor health conditions and disabilities. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) applies in full to prisoners. It guarantees the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities on a non-discriminatory basis. This requires positive state action in every sphere of social life where persons with disabilities may be disadvantaged. This includes reasonable accommodation of 69. WHO, Disabilities, available at: https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/disabilities, accessed 3 October 2020. 70. Cf. also European Parliament, Prison systems and conditions, para 23.