A/63/175 prison personnel and volunteers from the local community. Especially important are the possibilities for both maintaining and developing relations with the outside world, including spouses, partners, children, other family and friends. It is also very important to provide prisoners in solitary confinement with meaningful in-cell and out-of-cell activities. Research indicates that small group isolation in some circumstances may have similar effects to solitary confinement and such regimes should not be considered an appropriate alternative. The use of solitary confinement should be absolutely prohibited in the following circumstances: • For death row and life-sentenced prisoners by virtue of their sentence • For mentally ill prisoners • For children under the age of 18 Furthermore, when isolation regimes are intentionally used to apply psychological pressure on prisoners, such practices become coercive and should be absolutely prohibited. As a general principle solitary confinement should only be used in very exceptional cases, for as short a time as possible and only as a last resort. 08-44075 25