Solitary confinement

===Torture===

Solitary confinement is considered by many to be a form of [[psychological torture]] with measurable physiological effects, particularly when the period of confinement is longer than a few weeks or is continued indefinitely.<ref name="gawande9">{{cite magazine |last=Gawande |first=Atul |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande |title=Is long-term solitary confinement torture? |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=7 January 2009 |access-date=16 April 2010 |archive-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716011332/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal|author1=A. Vrca |author2= V. Bozikov |author3= Z. Brzović |author4= R. Fuchs |author5= M. Malinar |title=Visual evoked potentials in relation to factors of imprisonment in detention camps |date= September 1996 |journal=[[International Journal of Legal Medicine]] |volume=109 |issue=3 |pages=114–117 |doi=10.1007/BF01369669|pmid= 8956983 |s2cid= 21450401 }}. This is the study of 57 Yugoslav POWs referenced in Atul Gawande's 2009 ''New Yorker'' article.</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Tracy|last=Hresko|url=http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=pilr|date=Spring 2006|title=In the Cellars of the Hollow Men|publisher=Pace International Law Review|access-date=13 March 2011|archive-date=1 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901033804/http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=pilr|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Grassian2006"/>  

In October 2011, [[Juan E. Méndez]], then the [[United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment]], called on all countries to eliminate the practice except in "very exceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible," with a complete ban for juveniles and individuals with mental disabilities. "Solitary confinement is a harsh measure which is contrary to rehabilitation," Méndez told the [[United Nations General Assembly Third Committee|General Assembly's Third Committee]], which deals with social, humanitarian, and cultural affairs. He continued: "Considering the severe mental pain or suffering solitary confinement may cause, it can amount to [[torture]] or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pre-trial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period, for persons with mental disabilities or juveniles."<ref name="un.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40097|title=UN News - Solitary confinement should be banned in most cases, UN expert says|first=United Nations News Service|last=Section|date=18 October 2011|website=UN News Service Section|access-date=29 June 2017|archive-date=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624053501/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40097|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The United Nations [[Committee Against Torture]] cited the excessive use of solitary confinement in the United States as a violation of the [[United Nations Convention Against Torture|Convention Against Torture]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nambiar |first1=Sridevi |title=UN Committee on Torture Says U.S. Must Reform Its Use of Solitary Confinement |url=https://solitarywatch.org/2014/12/05/un-committee-against-torture-says-u-s-must-reform-its-use-of-solitary-confinement/ |publisher=Solitary Watch |access-date=28 June 2023 |date=5 December 2014}}</ref> The United Nations' [[Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners|Mandela Rules]], which were adopted in 2015 and establish minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, prohibit placements in solitary beyond 15 consecutive days.<ref>{{cite web |title=The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners |url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Nelson_Mandela_Rules-E-ebook.pdf |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |access-date=28 June 2023 |date=2015}}</ref> 

In ''Detention and Torture in South Africa: Psychological, Legal, and Historical Studies'', psychologist Don Foster lists solitary confinement as one of the most common forms of torture used on South African detainees.<ref name = foster/> "Given the full context of dependency, helplessness and social isolation common to conditions of South African security law detention," Foster writes, "there can be little doubt that solitary confinement under these circumstances should in itself be regarded as a form of torture."<ref name = foster>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Don |title=Detention and Torture in South Africa: Psychological, Legal and Historical Studies |date=1 January 1987 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London, United Kingdom |page=136}}</ref>