CAT/C/USA/CO/3-5
(a)
Review the use of mandatory detention for certain categories of
immigrants;
(b)
Develop and expand community-based alternatives to immigration
detention, expand the use of foster care for unaccompanied children, and halt the
expansion of family detention, with a view to progressively eliminating it completely;
(c)
Ensure compliance with United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement directive, Review of the Use of Segregation for ICE Detainees, of 4
September 2013, and Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011, in all
immigration detention facilities;
(d)
Prevent sexual assault in immigration detention and ensure that all
facilities holding immigration detainees comply with the standards provided for in the
Prison Rape Elimination Act;
(e)
Establish an effective and independent oversight mechanism to ensure
prompt, impartial and effective investigation into all allegations of violence and abuse
in immigration centres.
Solitary confinement
20.
While noting that the State party has indicated that there is “no systematic use of
solitary confinement in the United States”, the Committee remains concerned about reports
of extensive use of solitary confinement and other forms of isolation in United States
prisons, jails and other detention centres, for purposes of punishment, discipline and
protection, as well as for health-related reasons. The Committee also notes the lack of
relevant statistical information. Furthermore, it is concerned about the use of solitary
confinement for indefinite periods of time and its use with respect to juveniles and
individuals with mental disabilities. Full isolation of 22 to 23 hours a day in supermaximum security prisons is unacceptable (art. 16).
The State party should:
(a)
Limit the use of solitary confinement as a measure of last resort, for as
short a time as possible, under strict supervision and with the possibility of judicial
review;
(b)
Prohibit the use of solitary confinement for juveniles, persons with
intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, pregnant women, women with infants and
breastfeeding mothers, in prison;
(c)
Ban solitary confinement regimes in prisons, such as those in supermaximum security detention facilities;
(d)
Compile and regularly publish comprehensive disaggregated data on the
use of solitary confinement, including related suicide attempts and self-harm.
Protection of prisoners against violence, including sexual assault
21.
The Committee is seriously concerned at the widespread prevalence of sexual
violence, including rape, in prisons, jails and other places of detention, by staff and other
inmates. It also notes with concern the disproportionally high rate of sexual violence faced
by children in adult facilities, as well as the even higher rate of sexual victimization
reported by inmates with a history of mental health problems and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals. While welcoming the adoption, in 2012, of
the National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape, pursuant to the
Prison Rape Elimination Act, the Committee is concerned by reports that their
implementation at the state level continues to be a substantial challenge. In that context, the
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