A/HRC/34/54/Add.3 provide special protection to individuals belonging to marginalized groups; and ensure that health-care providers obtain free, full and informed consent for such procedures and fully explain the risks, benefits and alternatives in a comprehensible format, without resorting to threats or inducements, in every case” (para. 72(e)). Furthermore, he calls upon all States to “adopt transparent and accessible legal gender recognition procedures and abolish requirements for sterilization and other harmful procedures as preconditions” (para. 72(h)). 304. The Special Rapporteur strongly urges the Government of Japan to protect the right of the transgender persons to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, thereby ensuring compliance with its international legal obligation under the CAT. Jordan JUA 05/02/2016 Case No. JOR 1/2016 State Reply: None to date Allegation concerning the prolonged solitary confinement of Dr. Eyad Qunaibi. 305. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Jordan has not replied to the present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13. 306. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and is therefore of the view that the Government of Jordan, by subjecting Dr. Qunaibi, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Applied Sciences in Amman, Jordan, to prolonged solitary confinement, has violated his right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by article 7 of the ICCPR and articles 1, 2 and 16 of Convention against Torture. 307. The Special Rapporteur would like to recall his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), wherein he defined solitary confinement, in accordance with the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement, as the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined in their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. He observed that while solitary confinement for short periods of time may be justified under certain circumstances, with adequate and effective safeguards in place, the use of prolonged (in excess of 15 days) or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State, as it may cause severe mental and physical pain or suffering, a point which has been reiterated in paragraph 28 of the General Assembly Resolution 68/156. Prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement runs afoul of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, due to the prisoner’s lack of communication, as well as the lack of witnesses inside the prison, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes that solitary confinement may also give rise to other acts of torture or ill-treatment. 308. The Special Rapporteur strongly urges the Government of Jordan to protect the right of Dr. Qunaibi to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and comply with its obligations under international law through the immediate cessation of his solitary confinement and the provision of redress to the victim for any harm resultant from his solitary confinement. 58