A/63/175 Annex The Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement Adopted on 9 December 2007 at the International Psychological Trauma Symposium, Istanbul The purpose of the statement Recent years have seen an increase in the use of strict and often prolonged solitary confinement practices in prison systems in various jurisdictions across the world. This may take the form of a disproportionate disciplinary measure, or increasingly, the creation of whole prisons based upon a model of strict isolation of prisoners. a While acknowledging that in exceptional cases the use of solitary confinement may be necessary, we consider this a very problematic and worrying development. We therefore consider it timely to address this issue with an expert statement on the use and effects of solitary confinement. Definition Solitary confinement is the physical isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day. In many jurisdictions prisoners are allowed out of their cells for one hour of solitary exercise. Meaningful contact with other people is typically reduced to a minimum. The reduction in stimuli is not only quantitative but also qualitative. The available stimuli and the occasional social contacts are seldom freely chosen, are generally monotonous, and are often not empathetic. Common practices of solitary confinement Solitary confinement is applied in broadly four circumstances in various criminal justice systems around the world: as either a disciplinary punishment for sentenced prisoners; for the isolation of individuals during an ongoing criminal investigation; increasingly as an administrative tool for managing specific groups of prisoners; and as a judicial sentence. In many jurisdictions solitary confinement is also used as a substitute for proper medical or psychiatric care for mentally disordered individuals. Additionally, solitary confinement is increasingly used as a part of coercive interrogation, and is often an integral part of enforced disappearance b or incommunicado detention. __________________ a b 22 For the purpose of the present document, the term “prisoner” is used as a broad category covering persons under any form of detention and imprisonment. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance of December 2006 defines enforced disappearance as “... the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.” 08-44075