Countries around the world must stop routinely locking up citizens because of stigma, prejudice or health conditions, says the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health Dainius Puras.”The use of confinement and deprivation of liberty has become the default tool of social control in the name of public safety, ‘morals’ and public health,” Puras said during the presentation of a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.
While certain instances of incarceration may always be justified, it is unacceptable that in the 21st century confinement continues to be the norm for minor or non-violent criminal offences and for addressing public health issues, he said.
“National laws that criminalise people on the basis of stigma or prejudice must be removed from the statute books. People should not be imprisoned simply because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, illicit drug use, HIV status or because they are living with disabilities. Neither should sex workers or those carrying infectious diseases,” Puras stressed.
The Special Rapporteur also addressed the specific cases of children and women deprived of their liberty, as well as the issue of tuberculosis as a public health-based form of detention.
“We must seriously consider latest proposals to abolish detention for children, and start working on the full elimination of institutional care of children under age five. We must continue the very difficult but important conversation towards ending the confinement of children and adults with disabilities, in particular with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities,” he added.
He said the right to health is a powerful tool that can help us illuminate the injustice, indignity, and broken nature of our systems for confining people.
“It shows that the long arm of incarceration reaches far beyond locked cells and wards and into communities. It helps us challenge ourselves to think beyond a one size fits all approach to managing social, behavioural, and other public health challenges,” Puras said.
