ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES and not 500 prisoners’. The participants noted guidance on operational and security considerations in the Manual.321 Absolute prohibitions The Essex group recalled absolute prohibitions of the use of solitary confinement, namely if it is: •  indefinite •  prolonged •  imposed on juveniles322 •  imposed on pregnant women, women with infants and breastfeeding mothers in prison323 •  imposed on ‘prisoners with mental or physical disabilities when their conditions would be exacerbated by such measures’ •  applied by virtue of a prisoner’s sentence, as is the case in some countries, for example for prisoners on death row or persons serving a life sentence324 •  used as coercion intended to intimidate, to elicit cooperation or extract a confession within the justice system.325 The participants recalled the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture’s report on solitary confinement, calling for a ban on prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement as incompatible with the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment326 and as a harsh measure that is contrary to rehabilitation, the aim of the penitentiary system.327 The experts clarified that the term ‘indefinite solitary confinement’ (Rule 43(a)) means that the person concerned does not know when this confinement will end. They looked at the definition of ‘solitary confinement’ in Rule 44 as ‘the confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact’. The Essex group discussed elements that help determine what constitutes ‘meaningful human contact’ referred to in Rule 44, using the rationale of the provision and relevant documents from international human rights bodies.328 The term has been used to describe the amount and quality of social interaction and psychological stimulation which human beings require for their mental health and well-being. Such interaction United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Technical Guidance for Prison Planning: Technical and operational considerations based on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), 2016, p. 111 onwards. 321  Rule 67 of the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty. 322  Rule 22 of the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). 323  Rule 45 of the Nelson Mandela Rules. This has been emphasised also by the Special Rapporteur on Torture, in e.g. Special Rapporteur on Torture report 2013, A/68/295, para. 61. 324  Article 14(3)(g) of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. 325  Special Rapporteur on Torture report 2011, A/66/268. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has made comparable recommendations: CPT 21st General report, 1 August 2010–July 2011, November 2011. 326  Special Rapporteur on Torture report 2011, A/RES/65/205, para. 79. 327  The concept of ‘meaningful human contact’ has been borrowed from the Istanbul Statement on solitary confinement and from the UN Committee against Torture. See CAT SMR revision observations, para. 34. The Istanbul Statement on solitary confinement states ‘The available stimuli and the occasional social contacts are seldom freely chosen, are generally monotonous, and are often not empathetic’. See also CAT SMR revision observations, para. 34. 328  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 88