ACLU Urges UN to Take Action on Solitary Confinement in the United States

ACLU Urges UN to Take Action on Solitary Confinement in the United States February 21, 2011 by Jean Casella and James Ridgeway

The American Civil Liberties Union last week filed a statement with the United Nations' Human Rights Council, urging it to to "address the widespread violations of the human rights of prisoners in the United States associated with solitary confinement and call for the adoption of appropriate measures to protect their human rights.

The ACLU calls on the Council to urge the United States to take concrete and appropriate measures to end the egregious violations stemming from solitary confinement of prisoners."

After providing background on the widespread use of solitary confinement in the United States today, the statement includes a concise and well-documented section titled "Harmful Effects of Solitary Confinement."...:

There is a broad consensus among mental health experts that long-term solitary confinement is psychologically harmful. Indeed, the damaging effects of solitary confinement, even on persons with no prior history of mental illness, have long been well known. http://solitarywatch.com/2011/02/21/aclu-urges-un-to-take-action-on-solitary-confinement-in-the-united-states/