A/HRC/31/57/Add.4 D. Conditions of detention 113. In most detention facilities visited, the conditions of detention amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment owing to severe overcrowding. 114. This has generated a tense, violent and chaotic atmosphere inside the facilities, in which physical and psychological ill-treatment of inmates — women, men, girls and boys — has become the norm, and greatly impacts the living conditions of inmates and their access to food, drinking water, health care, family visits, legal defence, psychosocial support, and work and education opportunities, as well as sun, fresh air and recreation. 115. The Special Rapporteur observed acutely unsanitary conditions in cells and lavatories, yards and, especially, punishment areas. To a somewhat lesser extent, kitchens, visiting areas and other common rooms were also below acceptable standards of sanitation. Only two of the detention facilities visited showed acceptable levels of sanitation; in both cases, they were occupied below capacity. 116. Most prisons visited had punishment cells. Although often constructed as isolation cells, they might accommodate 10 to 15 people at a time, for days and weeks, without even minimal sanitation, such as a toilet or running water. The Special Rapporteur learned of one case in which a cell built for eight persons was being used to hold 58 people. 117. Moreover, he learned of similar conditions in police station lock-ups, where oftentimes detainees are held for longer periods under severely overcrowded conditions and in utterly inadequate facilities, before eventually being transferred to a penitentiary facility — where some spend their entire sentences — while police staff act as prison guards. 118. A main concern of penitentiary inmates is the quality of the food. The Special Rapporteur was able to verify the consistent reports of unvarying nutrient-poor meals. Possibly due to inadequate transportation, in some prisons the meals often become inedible by the time they get to the inmates, who reprepare the food in their cells using hazardous homemade electrical appliances. 119. He was able to observe a few places where inmates were given opportunities to take part in certain activities, including work. Overall, however, such activities were inadequate. He strongly encourages the Government to provide more opportunities for meaningful activity for all inmate groups, for their well-being and economic independence, and to equip them for life after prison. 120. Moreover, separation between pretrial detainees and convicted felons is not observed. Due to the unprecedented and rapid increase in incarceration, facilities originally designed for one or the other category are used indiscriminately. Actions taken to reduce overcrowding in some places have merely slowed the exponential increase in overpopulation. Even states that led the way in reducing pretrial detention have seen their prison population figures remain the same. 121. The Special Rapporteur heard about unreasonably harsh disciplinary measures, including cases in which inmates had invoked a right (e.g. requesting a mattress) and been punished for exhibiting “negative leadership” by prolonged sentences, or months or years in isolation. Disciplinary measures were typically applied collectively and without a hearing or a notice of the length of time the measure would be applied. 122. With regard to children and adolescents, he noted with concern that the socioeducational centres seemed, in practice, to function in a very similar way to adult penitentiary facilities, thus failing to pay special attention to the needs and rights of children and adolescents. Architecturally, the socioeducational centres follow the principle of a regular detention centre, with the young people locked up behind bars in rooms that are similar if not equal to prison cells, with a disciplinary system that is often equally rigid. 18