A/63/175 Allegations were received of newly arrived prisoners being held in dark isolation cells for up to a week (ibid., para. 82); (i) In Denmark, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern at the extensive recourse to solitary confinement, particularly with respect to pre-trial detainees (United Nations press release, 9 May 2008). 79. Solitary confinement is typically used as a form of punishment for disciplinary infractions by inmates, to isolate suspects during criminal investigations and as a judicial sentence. Sometimes, as indicated above, it is used as a form of treatment or punishment of persons with disabilities in institutions or to manage certain groups of prisoners, such as those considered in need of psychiatric care. 80. In general comment No. 20 (1992), the Human Rights Committee stated that the use of prolonged solitary confinement may amount to a breach of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (para. 6). The Committee against Torture has recognized the harmful physical and mental effects of prolonged solitary confinement and has expressed concern about its use, including as a preventive measure during pre-trial detention, as well as a disciplinary measure. 45 Except in exceptional circumstances, such as when the safety of persons or property is involved, the Committee has recommended that the use of solitary confinement be abolished, particularly during pre-trial detention, or at least that it should be strictly and specifically regulated by law (maximum duration, etc.) and exercised under judicial supervision. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended that solitary confinement should not be used against children. 46 Principle 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners states, “Efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged.” 81. The history of the use and effects of solitary confinement on detainees has been well documented. 47 In modern prison systems of the world one can trace the origins of the philosophy of rehabilitation through isolation to the Pennsylvania prison model, developed in the 1820s at the Cherry Hill Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America. The aim of the model was to rehabilitate criminals through solitary confinement; prisoners spent all their time in their cells, including for work, in order to reflect on their transgressions and return to society “morally cleansed”. The Pennsylvania model was subsequently imported and used in many European and South American countries from the 1830s. 82. The weight of accumulated evidence to date points to the serious and adverse health effects of the use of solitary confinement: from insomnia and confusion to __________________ 45 46 47 20 For example, see the concluding observations of the Committee on the third periodic report of Denmark, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-second Session, Supplement No. 44 (A/52/44), chap. IV, sect. I, paras. 181 and 186; on the third periodic report of Sweden (ibid., chap. IV, sect. K, paras. 220 and 225; on the third periodic report of Norway (ibid., Fifty-third Session, Supplement No. 44 (A/53/44), chap. IV, sect. H, paras. 154 and 156; on the third periodic report of France (CAT/C/FRA/CO/3), para. 19; on the second periodic report of the United States of America (CAT/C/USA/CO/2), para. 36; and on the third periodic report of New Zealand (CAT/C/CR/32/4, paras. 5 (d) and 6 (d)). For example, with respect to Denmark (CRC/C/DNK/CO/3), para. 59 (a). For example, P. Scharff Smith, “The effects of solitary confinement on prison inmates: a brief history and review of the literature”, in Crime and Justice, vol. 34 (2006), University of Chicago Press, pp. 441-528. 08-44075