A/71/298 information. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the physical environment and conditions during questioning must be adequate, humane and free from intimidation, so as not to run afoul of the prohibition of torture or ill -treatment. 46. The Special Rapporteur expresses serious concern about the practice of holding terrorism suspects in solitary confinement or other forms of isolation in order to break their resistance to questioning. The imposition of solitary confinement of any duration for the purpose of pressuring persons to confess, provide information or admit guilt violates the prohibition of torture (see A/66/268). Practices such as the “separation” technique described in appendix M to the United States Army field manual on human intelligence collector operations, whereby detainees are isolated and prevented from communicating with anyone except medical, detention and intelligence personnel, in an attempt to decrease their resistance to questioning, are coercive tactics and violate international law. 2. Guiding principles of investigative interviewing 47. Encouragingly, some States have moved away from accusatorial, manipulative and confession-driven interviewing models with a view to increasing accurate and reliable information and minimizing the risks of unreliable information and miscarriages of justice. The essence of an alternative informat ion-gathering model was first captured by the PEACE 12 model of interviewing adopted in 1992 in England and Wales. Investigative interviewing models fashioned after that model were subsequently adopted by other jurisdictions and the International Criminal Court. Initially developed for criminal investigations, models of investigative interviewing can provide positive guidance for the protocol and be applied in a wide range of investigative contexts, including during intelligence and military operations. 48. The investigative interviewing model comprises a number of essential elements that are key to the prevention of mistreatment and coercion and help to guarantee effectiveness. Interviewers must, in particular, seek to obtain accurate and reliable information in the pursuit of truth; gather all available evidence pertinent to a case before beginning interviews; prepare and plan interviews based on that evidence; maintain a professional, fair and respectful attitude during questioning; establish and maintain a rapport with the interviewee; allow the interviewee to give his or her free and uninterrupted account of the events; use open -ended questions and active listening; scrutinize the interviewee’s account and analyse the information obtained against previously available information or evidence; and evaluate each interview with a view to learning and developing additional skills. The remainder of the present section provides an overview of some of these elements, on which the protocol should provide detailed guidance. 49. The protocol must reiterate the precise aim of questioning, namely to obtain accurate and reliable information in order to discover the truth of all relevant facts about matters under investigation. The aim of interviews must not be to elicit confessions or other information reinforcing presumptions of guilt or other assumptions held by officers. 13 Interviews are conducted to make the presumption of __________________ 12 13 16-13568 The five steps of the PEACE model are preparation and planning; engage and explain; account; closure; and evaluation. See the twelfth report on its activities of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT/Inf (2002) 15). 13/25