–8– In the CPT’s view, solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure should only be imposed for very short periods and under no circumstances for more than three days. Whenever juveniles are subject to such a measure, they should be provided with socio-educational support and appropriate human contact. A member of the health-care staff should visit the juvenile immediately after placement and thereafter on a regular basis, at least once per day, and provide him/her with prompt medical assistance and treatment.4 129. As regards solitary confinement for protection or preventive purposes, the CPT recognises that such a measure may, in extremely rare cases, be required in order to protect particularly vulnerable juveniles or to prevent serious risks to the safety of others or the security of the prison, provided that absolutely no other solution can be found. Every such measure should be decided by a competent authority, based on a clear procedure specifying the nature of the confinement, its duration, the grounds on which it may be imposed and providing a regular review process, as well as the possibility for the juvenile concerned to appeal against the decision to an independent external authority. The juveniles concerned should always be provided with appropriate human contact and benefit from daily visits by a member of the health-care staff. Likewise, the placement of a violent and/or agitated juvenile in a calming-down room should be a highly exceptional measure. Any such measure should not last for more than a few hours and should never be used as an informal punishment. Mechanical restraint should never be used in this context. Every placement of a juvenile in a calming-down room should be immediately brought to the attention of a doctor in order to allow him/her to look after the health-care needs of the juvenile concerned. In addition, every such placement should be recorded in a central register as well as in the juvenile’s individual file. h. information on rights 130. Upon admission, all juveniles should be given a copy of the rules governing everyday life in the institution and a written description of their rights and obligations in a language and manner they can understand. Juveniles should also be given information on how to lodge a complaint, including the contact details of the authorities competent to receive complaints, as well as the addresses of any services which provide legal assistance. For those juveniles who are illiterate or who cannot understand the language in the written form, the above-mentioned information should be conveyed in a manner enabling full comprehension. 4 Note [by the Secretariat of the CPT; in 2017]: In recent years, the CPT has observed an increasing trend at the international level to promote the abolition of solitary confinement as a disciplinary sanction in respect of juveniles. The Committee fully endorses this approach. Particular reference is made in this regard to Rule 45 (2) of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules, 2015). For more details on this subject, see, for instance, the CPT’s reports on the 2015 visit to France (CPT/Inf(2017)7, paragraph 95), on the 2015 visit to Germany (CPT/Inf(2017)13, paragraph 70) and on the 2016 visit to Latvia (CPT/Inf(2017)16, paragraph 96).