School of Social and Political Science

Description

Naming the Unnamed: Environmental Conditions in Places of Detention

Environmental Conditions of Detention is a project that explores how certain conditions of detention shape individuals’ experiences when they are deprived of liberty by judicial order, including vulnerable individuals such as disabled people and children. Previous research identified that sensory conditions of detention can exacerbate existing physical and mental vulnerabilities of persons deprived of their liberty. These conditions may be created through punishment, such as the use of loud music or light manipulation, or result from neglect of detainees’ needs, such as overuse of air conditioning and lack of consideration of health impacts of, e.g. environmental noise.  If places that hold individuals deprived their liberty are intended to rehabilitate and prepare these individuals for reintroduction into society, greater attention to guarding against torture and other forms of prohibited treatment is essential. This presentation will introduce the guidance directed toward guarding against harmful environmental conditions in detention settings and explain how we have engaged National Preventive Mechanisms to pursue more focused lines of inquiry regarding environmental conditions in places of deprivation of liberty. 

Part of CeSeR’s Series: Contemporary Security Challenges.

Speaker: Professor Kasey McCall-Smith, Professor of International Law and Human Rights, University of Edinburgh Law School

Registration not required.