Forty-fourth session (1992)
General comment No. 21: Article 10 (Humane treatment of
persons deprived of their liberty)
1.
This general comment replaces general comment No. 9 (the sixteenth session, 1982)
reflecting and further developing it.
2.
Article 10, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights applies to
any one deprived of liberty under the laws and authority of the State who is held in prisons,
hospitals - particularly psychiatric hospitals - detention camps or correctional institutions or
elsewhere. States parties should ensure that the principle stipulated therein is observed in all
institutions and establishments within their jurisdiction where persons are being held.
3.
Article 10, paragraph 1, imposes on States parties a positive obligation towards persons who
are particularly vulnerable because of their status as persons deprived of liberty, and complements
for them the ban on torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
contained in article 7 of the Covenant. Thus, not only may persons deprived of their liberty not be
subjected to treatment that is contrary to article 7, including medical or scientific experimentation,
but neither may they be subjected to any hardship or constraint other than that resulting from the
deprivation of liberty; respect for the dignity of such persons must be guaranteed under the same
conditions as for that of free persons. Persons deprived of their liberty enjoy all the rights set forth in
the Covenant, subject to the restrictions that are unavoidable in a closed environment.
4.
Treating all persons deprived of their liberty with humanity and with respect for their dignity
is a fundamental and universally applicable rule. Consequently, the application of this rule, as a
minimum, cannot be dependent on the material resources available in the State party. This rule
must be applied without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
5.
States parties are invited to indicate in their reports to what extent they are applying the
relevant United Nations standards applicable to the treatment of prisoners: the Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1957), the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons
under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (1988), the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials (1978) and the Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel,
particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1982).
6.
The Committee recalls that reports should provide detailed information on national
legislative and administrative provisions that have a bearing on the right provided for in article 10,
paragraph 1. The Committee also considers that it is necessary for reports to specify what concrete
measures have been taken by the competent authorities to monitor the effective application of the
rules regarding the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. States parties should include in
their reports information concerning the system for supervising penitentiary establishments, the
specific measures to prevent torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and how impartial
supervision is ensured.
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