IRCT NEWS

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IRCT General Assembly 2006 / Berlin, Germany, 7 – 8 December

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"Together against Torture": Global Report on the 26 June 2005 Campaign (PDF file - 1.5 MB)

26 June Global Reports


The IRCT's Global Report on the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture provides information about the activities that take place worldwide in connection with 26 June.

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Statement from the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) on the United Nations Human Rights Day, 10 December 2005

The IRCT welcomes the decision by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louis Arbour, to focus the commemorative activities of this year’s Human Rights day on the issue of torture. 

International law prohibits torture under all circumstances. It is a human right not to be tortured. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, the prohibition of torture has been confirmed and elaborated in several international human rights instruments, both universal and regional.

However, torture is unfortunately still prevalent in the world. Anyone can become a victim of torture. Torture affects not only politicians, union leaders, journalists and human rights defenders but also ordinary citizens including women and children, often for no reason other than to create a climate of fear. In addition to the harm caused to the individual exposed to torture and that person’s family, torture also destabilises society. 

Attempts to justify the use of torture and ill-treatment have been made by states on behalf of national security and counter-terrorism policies. Such policies have led to violations of the prohibition against torture as well as violations of human rights such as the right to a fair trial. The IRCT has consistently expressed its condemnation of such practices, including the outsourcing of torture, the transfer of individuals to countries where they might face torture or other forms of ill-treatment and the use of secret places of detention. 

Torture is not the answer to terrorism. The IRCT urges European states to investigate the existence of secret detention centres on any territory under their jurisdiction and calls upon all states to reject any attempt to erode any legislation or practise aiming at preventing or stopping torture. 

Torture victims, like all victims of violations of human rights, have the right to reparation under international law. One of the means of mitigating the effects of torture on victims and their families is to provide them with medical, psychological, social, legal and economic aid. Therefore, rehabilitation is an essential form of reparation for victims of torture. Yet, resources allocated to rehabilitation of victims of torture are often not sufficient to meet their needs. 

Faced with the challenge of meeting the special needs of victims of torture, the IRCT welcomes the adoption this year both by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and by the UN General Assembly of the "Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law". These principles identify mechanisms, modalities, procedures and methods for the implementation of existing legal obligations regarding different forms of reparation. 

The IRCT urges all states to implement these principles and to pay special attention to the medical and psychological rehabilitation needed to allow victims of torture and their relatives to continue with their lives in spite of the terrible consequences of torture. Furthermore, states must ensure that perpetrators of torture are brought to justice.