A United Nations expert on torture today called on all countries to ban the solitary confinement of prisoners except in very exceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible, with an absolute prohibition in the case of juveniles and people with mental disabilities.

The United Nations independent expert on torture today voiced concern over restrictions imposed by the United States on access to detainees, stating that it is vital for him to have unmonitored access to Bradley Manning, the US soldier detained for allegedly leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today exhorted States to take effective legislative, administrative and judicial measures to prevent torture, calling the practice a brutal attempt to destroy a victim's sense of dignity and sense of human worth that can never be justified.