A/HRC/26/45 confinement, and whether detainees held in isolation have access to a doctor on request. More importantly, there is no appeal or review system in Eritrea for solitary confinement.28 89. Contrary to international standards, it is exceptional for family and friends to have access to those held in custody in Eritrea. Indeed, families are not informed of where their relatives are being held, for what reason, nor for how long they will be kept in custody. Inmates themselves may not have such information. The detaining authorities regularly move prisoners from one prison to another, sometimes very far from their family base, and consequently, they may not get visits for the entire duration of their detention, which can last for months and even years. Contact with family is random, and usually dependent on the goodwill of released detainees to provide family with information. 90. While prisoner deaths occur due to deterioration in health and inadequate medical treatment, poor sanitation or torture, secrecy and lack of access to records make it impossible to determine the exact number of deaths in custody. Some families learn about the fate of their relatives only when informed of their death in custody, though not of the cause of death. Sometimes, released detainees face the dilemma of whether or not to inform family members of the death of their loved ones for fear of reprisal or simply because they do not have the courage to dishearten parents or spouses. Contact with family and friends is not a privilege, but a right for all those in custody, and prisoners should not be deprived of that right or prohibited from communicating with the outside world as a disciplinary measure. C. Women and children in custody 91. Female detainees are usually accommodated separately from men within the same institution; however, the Special Rapporteur has not been able to ascertain whether the premises allocated to women are entirely separate, more specifically with regard to hygiene facilities. The same conditions as described above apply to women detainees, which indicates that the Eritrean authorities have failed to take into account their protection and special needs, in direct contravention of the provisions set out in the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). 92. Women detainees are reportedly under the responsibility of male staff mainly, as the majority of the guards at detention centres are men, which exposes them to multiple forms of abuse, including sexual violence, rape or threats of rape and sexual harassment. The specific reproductive health needs of female detainees are not accorded attention. Some young children are held with their mothers, and in the case of lactating mothers, the poor quality of food makes it difficult to ensure proper nutrition for their infants. 93. Although there is a juvenile detention centre in Asmara, children below 18 years, especially those rounded up during giffas, are held with adults in detention centres before being transferred to a military training camp. They are subjected to the same harsh regime as adults during detention. Deprivation of liberty, even of children, is not used as a measure of last resort, but as a matter of course, in violation of article 40, paragraph 4, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a key provision in juvenile justice. 28 18 Association for the Prevention of Torture, Monitoring places of detention: a practical guide, (Geneva, April 2004), page 109.