Mandela Rules - National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Nelson Mandela Rules
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners

The revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, were adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 17, 2015. The resolution was made to protect the rights of those who are currently being held in a UN member state’s prisons. The resolution covers several topics of treatment prisoners are entitled to. These issues include but are not limited to: medical attention, staff training, different forms of prison separation, and solitary confinement.

On solitary confinement, the resolution has brought about new norms and reinforced old norms on the use of solitary confinement including:

Solitary confinement is defined as at least 22 hours a day spent with no meaningful human interaction.
Indefinite or prolonged detention in solitary confinement is prohibited.
Solitary confinement lasting longer than 15 days is considered prolonged.
“Solitary confinement shall be used only in exceptional cases as a last resort, for as short a time as possible and subject to independent review, and only pursuant to the authorization by a competent authority. It shall not be imposed by virtue of a prisoner’s sentence.”*
“The imposition of solitary confinement should be prohibited in the case of prisoners with mental or physical disabilities when their conditions would be exacerbated by such measures. The prohibition of the use of solitary confinement and similar measures in cases involving women and children, as referred to in other United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, continues to apply.”*
The resolution makes it clear that solitary should be used in extreme cases and should be the very last of options prison officials use when it comes disciplinary actions.

* UN General Assembly, Resolution 70/175 , “United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)”, January 8, 2016. The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly on December 17, 2015.