A/63/175 Treatment of Prisoners states that “[e]fforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged”. Jurisprudence of the United Nations Human Rights Committee has previously found a specific isolation regime to violate both article 7 and article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Campos v. Peru, judgement of 9 January 1998). On a regional level, the European Court and former Commission on Human Rights, as well as the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), have made it clear that the use of solitary confinement can amount to a violation of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (i.e. constitute torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment), depending on the specific circumstances of the case, and the conditions and duration of detention. It has been recognized that “… complete sensory isolation coupled with total isolation, can destroy the personality and constitutes a form of inhuman treatment which cannot be justified by the requirements of security or any other reason”. e CPT has also stated that solitary confinement “can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment” and has on several occasions criticized such practices and recommended reform, i.e. either abandoning specific regimes, limiting the use of solitary confinement to exceptional circumstances, and/or securing inmates a higher level of social contact. f The importance of developing communal activities for prisoners subjected to various forms of isolation regimes has for example been stressed (CPT, report on the visit to Turkey from 7 to 14 December 2005, para. 43). Furthermore, the revised European Prison Rules of 2006 have clearly stated that solitary confinement should be an exceptional measure and, when used, should be for as short a time as possible. g The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has also stated that prolonged solitary confinement constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited under article 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights (Castillo Petruzzi et al., judgement of 30 May 1999). Policy implications Solitary confinement harms prisoners who were not previously mentally ill and tends to worsen the mental health of those who are. The use of solitary confinement in prisons should therefore be kept to a minimum. In all prison systems there is some use of solitary confinement — in special units or prisons for those seen as threats to security and prison order. But regardless of the specific circumstances, and whether solitary confinement is used in connection with disciplinary or administrative segregation or to prevent collusion in remand prisons, effort is required to raise the level of meaningful social contacts for prisoners. This can be done in a number of ways, such as raising the level of prison staff-prisoner contact, allowing access to social activities with other prisoners, allowing more visits, and allowing and arranging in-depth talks with psychologists, psychiatrists, religious __________________ e f g 24 Ramirez Sanchez v. France, Grand Chamber, judgement of 4 July 2006, para. 123. Rod Morgan and Malcolm Evans Combating Torture in Europe, 2001, p. 118. See also recommendation Rec(2003)23 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, paras. 7, 20 and 22. See recommendation Rec(2006)2 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 11 January 2006 at the 952nd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies), para. 60.5. See also CPT, 2nd General Report (1991), para. 56. 08-44075