ABSTRACT
This chapter considers human rights in relation to the detention of prisoners and asylum seekers. It outlines some of the challenges of attaining human rights when dominant structural, institutional and sociocultural relations are arranged to inhibit human rights standards. States can be legally challenged or shamed into providing human rights standards within places of detention. Under a risk-averse strategy, detention facility officials view human rights claims as "organizational risks" that they wish to avoid publicity about bad treatment of detainees can undermine an institution's reputation but it can also lead to costly legal battles. Overall, legal and administrative mechanisms for human rights protections offer useful but limited scope for change. Here, two strategies are outlined: contesting the state-led discourse on human rights; nurturing cultures of solidarity.
