Understanding Environmental Conditions of Detention: Guarding against Prohibited Treatment

Through this project we aim to:

Consolidate existing research on the environmental conditions of detention that lead to prohibited treatment, including manipulation of light, sound and temperature.

Develop recommendations to address the gaps in existing guidelines on the appropriate conditions of detention both broadly (The United Nations revised minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners (Mandela Rules)) and specifically in relation to identified vulnerable groups (e.g. women (Bangkok Rules), children (Havana Rules) and disabled people) to enable anti-torture monitors to give further direction to detention facility professionals.

Improve the conditions of detention for individuals deprived of liberty through state-sanctioned processes by demonstrating how light, sound and temperature manipulation can exacerbate the negative health implications inherent in detention.

Understanding the Environmental Conditions of Detention will build on academic research and practical understandings of how environmental conditions within places of detention can cross the threshold of prohibited treatment. Consolidating the knowledge of international experts on the prohibition against torture, the project brings together key researchers across law, musicology and criminology and with practitioners to draft concise recommendations to supplement existing minimum guidelines for the treatment of individuals deprived of their liberty. A number of the invited external guests have extensive drafting experience in this field. The produced guidelines will support torture prevention monitor organisations, detention facility professionals and investigators in defending against prohibited treatment.