NATIONS UNIES

HAUT COMMISSARIAT DES NATIONS UNIES AUX DROITS DE LHOMME PROCEDURES SPECIALES DU CONSEIL DES DROITS DE LHOMME

UNITED NATIONS
OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIAL PROCEDURES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

REFERENCE: UA G/SO 214 (53-24) USA 20/2010

30 December 2010

Excellency, I have the honour to address you in my capacity as Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 8/8. In this connection, I would like to draw the attention of your Excellencys Government to information I have received regarding the situation of Mr. Bradley E. Manning, born in 1987, a United Stated (U.S.) Private First Class Army Soldier, who is reportedly being held in solitary confinement at the Marine Corps Brig, Quantico, Virginia, and is expected to face a court-martial in 2011. According to the information received, in May 2010, Mr. Manning was arrested by agents of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and held in pre-trial detention in a military jail at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait for two months before he was transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps Brig in Quantico, Virginia, where he has been held for the past five months. In July 2010, Mr. Manning was reportedly charged with the unauthorized disclosure of U.S. classified information to WikiLeaks. It is further reported that since his arrest in May 2010, Mr. Manning has been confined to his cell for twenty-three hours a day. The prolonged period of isolated confinement which Mr. Manning has allegedly been subjected to for seven months is believed to have been imposed in an effort to coerce him into cooperation with the authorities, allegedly for the purpose of persuading him to implicate others. In view of the allegations indicating that Mr. Manning continues to remain confined to his cell for twenty-three hours a day, and that such a regimen has reportedly now been in effect for about eight months, serious concern is expressed about its effect on the physical and mental integrity of Mr. Manning. Without in any way implying any conclusion as to the facts of the case, I should like to appeal to your Excellencys Government to seek clarification of the circumstances

regarding the case of Mr. Manning. I would also like to stress that each Government has the obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all persons. This right is set forth inter alia in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In this context and with regard to the allegations of holding Mr. Manning in prolonged solitary confinement since his arrest in May 2010, I would like to draw your Excellencys Governments attention to paragraph 6 of General Comment 20 of the Human Rights Committee. It states that prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by article 7 [on the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment] of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted at the 44th session of the Human Rights Committee, 1992). In this regard, I would also like to draw your attention to article 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, which provides that efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged (adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990). Furthermore, I would like to draw your Excellencys Government attention to paragraph 21 of the UN General Assembly Resolution 64/153 of 26 March 2010, which Emphasizes that conditions of detention must respect the dignity and human rights of detainees, highlights the importance of reflecting on this in efforts to promote respect for and protection of the rights of detainees, and notes in this regard concerns about solitary confinement. I would further like to draw your Excellencys Government attention to the jurisprudence of the United Nations Human Rights Committee that has previously found a specific isolation regime to violate both article 7 and article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Campos v. Peru, judgment of 9 January 1998). The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has also stated that prolonged solitary confinement constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment prohibited under article 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights (Castillo Petruzzi et al., judgment of 30 May 1999). I would also like to draw your Excellencys Government attention to the UN General Assembly report (A/63/175 of 28 July 2008), where the former Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment noted that the practice of solitary confinement has a clearly documented negative impact on mental health, and therefore should be used only in exceptional circumstances or when absolutely necessary for criminal investigation purposes. In all cases, solitary confinement should be used for the shortest period of time. In this respect, I would like to bring to your Excellencys Government attention the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement adopted on 9 December 2007 at the International Psychological Trauma Symposium in Istanbul, according to which It has been convincingly documented on numerous occasions that solitary confinement may cause

serious psychological effects. []. A long list of symptoms ranging from insomnia and confusion to hallucinations and psychosis have been documented. Negative health effects can occur after only a few days in solitary confinement, and the health risks rise with each additional day spent in such conditions. Furthermore, I would like to draw your Excellencys Governments attention to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. (Adopted by the Economic and Social Council by resolutions 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957 and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977). I would also like to draw your attention to the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1988 (Adopted by General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988). The Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee have consistently found that conditions of detention can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. I would also like to draw your Excellencys Governments attention to Principle 19 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1988 which states that, A detained or imprisoned person shall have the right to be visited by and to correspond with, in particular, members of his family and shall be given adequate opportunity to communicate with the outside world []. I would also like to draw your attention to rule 37 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted on 30 August 1955 by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, which provides that Prisoners shall be allowed under necessary supervision to communicate with their family and reputable friends at regular intervals, both by correspondence and by receiving visits. I urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of the above mentioned person are respected and, in the event that your investigations support or suggest the above allegations to be correct, to ensure the accountability of any person responsible for the alleged violations. I also request that your Excellencys Government adopt effective measures to prevent the recurrence of these acts. In view of the urgency of the matter, I would appreciate a response on the initial steps taken by your Excellencys Government to safeguard the rights of the abovementioned person in compliance with the international instruments cited. Moreover, it is my responsibility under the mandates provided to us by the Human Rights Council, to seek to clarify all cases brought to our attention. Since I am expected to report on these cases to the Human Rights Council, I would be grateful for your cooperation and your observations on the following matters, when relevant to the case under consideration: 1. Are the facts alleged in the above summary of the case accurate?

2.

Has a complaint been lodged by or on behalf of the alleged victim?

3. Please provide information concerning the legal grounds for the arrest and for the decision to place Mr. Manning in solitary confinement, as well as factual details of the incarceration regimen to which he is subject and how such measures are compatible with international norms and standards as stated, inter alia, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture. 4. Please provide the details, and where available the results, of any investigation, medical examinations, and judicial or other inquiries carried out in relation to this case. If no inquiries have taken place, or if they have been inconclusive, please explain why. 5. If the imposition of excessive solitary confinement has been the action of one or more individuals acting outside the scope of their authority, please provide the full details of any investigation or prosecution which have been undertaken. Have penal, disciplinary or administrative sanctions been imposed on the alleged perpetrators? 6. Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure the physical and mental integrity of Mr. Manning. I undertake to ensure that your Excellencys Governments response to each of these questions is accurately reflected in the report I will submit to the Human Rights Council for its consideration.

Juan E. Mndez Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment