A/66/268 Unit (SHU)”, 5 but all these terms can involve different factors. For the purposes of this report, the Special Rapporteur defines solitary confinement as the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. Of particular concern to the Special Rapporteur is prolonged solitary confinement, which he defines as any period of solitary confinement in excess of 15 days. He is aware of the arbitrary nature of the effort to establish a moment in time which an already harmful regime becomes prolonged and therefore unacceptably painful. He concludes that 15 days is the limit between “solitary confinement” and “prolonged solitary confinement” because at that point, according to the literature surveyed, some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become irreversible. 6 D. Legal framework 27. International and regional human rights bodies have taken different approaches to address the underlying conditions of social and physical isolation of detainees, and whether such practices constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. For example, while the European Court of Human Rights has confronted solitary confinement regimes with regularity, the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have most extensively addressed the related phenomenon of incommunicado detention. For the purposes of this report, the Special Rapporteur will highlight the work of universal and regional human rights bodies on solitary confinement only. 1. International level General Assembly 28. In 1990, the General Assembly adopted resolution 45/111, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners. Principle 7 states that efforts to abolish solitary confinement as a punishment, or to restrict its use, should be undertaken and encouraged. 29. In the same year, the General Assembly adopted resolution 45/113, the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty. In paragraph 67 the Assembly asserted that “All disciplinary measures constituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment shall be strictly prohibited, including ... solitary confinement or any other punishment that may compromise the physical or mental health of the juvenile concerned”. United Nations treaty bodies 30. The Human Rights Committee, in paragraph 6 of its General Comment No. 20, noted that prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person might amount to acts prohibited by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil __________________ 5 6 11-44570 Ken Strutin, “Solitary Confinement”, LLRX.com, published on 10 August 2010. Craig Haney, “Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and ‘Supermax’ Confinement, Crime and Delinquency”, vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 124-156. 9