A/66/268 America, where it was believed that isolation of prisoners would aid in their rehabilitation. Under this model prisoners spent their entire day alone, mostly within the confines of their cells, including for work, in order to reflect on their transgressions away from negative external influences. Beginning in the 1830s, European and South American countries adopted this practice (A/63/175, para. 81). It must be recognized that 200 years ago this model was a socially and morally progressive way to deal with punishment, as it emphasized rehabilitation and attempted to substitute for the death penalty, limb amputations and other penalties then prevalent. 24. States around the world continue to use solitary confinement extensively (see A/63/175, para. 78). In some countries, the use of Super Maximum Security Prisons to impose solitary confinement as a normal, rather than an “exceptional”, practice for inmates is considered problematic. In the United States, for example, it is estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 individuals are being held in isolation. 1 Another example is the extensive use of solitary confinement in relation to pretrial detention, which for many years has been an integral part of the Scandinavian prison practice. 2 Some form of isolation from the general prison population is used almost everywhere as punishment for breaches of prison discipline. Many States now use solitary confinement more routinely and for longer durations. For example, in Brazil, Law 10792 of 2003, amending the existing “Law of Penal Execution”, contemplates a “differentiated” disciplinary regime in an individual cell for up to 360 days, without prejudice to extensions of similar length for new offences and up to one sixth of the prison term. In 2010, the Province of Buenos Aires in Argentina instituted a Programme of Prevention of Violent Behaviour in its prisons which consists of isolation for a minimum of nine months (the initial three months in full isolation), a term that — according to prison monitors — is frequently extended. C. Definition 25. There is no universally agreed upon definition of solitary confinement. The Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement defines solitary confinement as the physical isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. In many jurisdictions, prisoners held in solitary confinement are allowed out of their cells for one hour of solitary exercise a day. Meaningful contact with other people is typically reduced to a minimum. The reduction in stimuli is not only quantitative but also qualitative. The available stimuli and the occasional social contacts are seldom freely chosen, generally monotonous, and often not empathetic. 26. Solitary confinement is also known as “segregation”, “isolation”, 3 “separation”, “cellular”, 4 “lockdown”, “Supermax”, “the hole” or “Secure Housing __________________ 1 2 3 4 8 Alexandra Naday, Joshua D. Freilich and Jeff Mellow, “The Elusive Data on Supermax Confinement”, The Prison Journal, vol. 88, issue 1, p. 69 (2008). Peter Scharff Smith, “The effects of solitary confinement on prison inmates: a brief history and review of the literature”, Crime and Justice, vol. 34 (2006), p. 441. Jeffrey L. Metzner, M.D., and Jamie Fellner, “Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics”, The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 104-108 (2010). Sharon Shalev, A Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement (London, Mannheim Centre for Criminology, 2008), p. 1. 11-44570