Tag

#Mandela Rules

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (revised 2015), setting baseline standards for humane detention conditions. Defines prolonged solitary confinement (over 15 consecutive days) as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

1 incident

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Surge in Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention

At least 10,588 people were subjected to solitary confinement in immigration detention over 14 months spanning two administrations, with usage surging under the Trump administration. PHR reports that from 2018 to 2023 nearly three in four placements lasted 15 days or longer, the duration beyond which the UN Special Rapporteur on torture considers solitary confinement prohibited and capable of amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; whether a given placement amounts to torture depends on its purpose and severity, assessed case by case. DHS oversight offices were simultaneously decimated from 150 to 22 staff.