ABOUT US
The #TortureFreeWorld website and campaign have been designed as a platform for uniting global stakeholders in the fight against torture. Part of a joint initiative by the American University Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law’s Anti-Torture Initiative and six coalition partners from around the world, they have been designed to mark Torture Awareness Month.
Our goal is to provide a supportive forum for organizations and individuals engaged in the fight against torture worldwide to share their vision of a #TortureFreeWorld and to encourage collaborative efforts designed to make this vision a reality. On this website you can also watch videos and view other media prepared by our coalition partners featuring survivors of torture, anti-torture advocates, and a diverse array of human rights experts and practitioners from around the world, on the topic of working for a #TortureFreeWorld. You can submit YOUR stories and media via the interactive Get Involved tool, and learn more about and register for our June 26 Webinar featuring Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Mendez.
More information about the Anti-Torture Initiative and our coalition partners is available below.
The Anti-Torture Initiative (ATI) is a project of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Juan E. Méndez. The ATI seeks to expand the strategies used by the Special Rapporteur on Torture in furtherance of his mandate; to support, monitor, and assess implementation of the Rapporteur's recommendations; and to provide a multi-dynamic model for effective in-country follow-up.
The ATI is leading the #TortureFreeWorld campaign, a collaborative effort with its below partner organizations engaged in the fight against torture, marking the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
The Center for Victims of Torture is an international non-profit that provides mental health services and physiotherapy to thousands of survivors of torture and war trauma in the United States, Africa, and the Middle East. CVT also runs capacity building programs for torture treatment centers across the United States and in eleven countries.
Having served over 33,000 survivors since its inception in 1985, CVT works in coordination with partner organizations and individuals around the world to combat impunity for torture, protect and support survivors, and rebuild trust within communities with a view to ending the scourge of torture.
The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an independent NGO based in Geneva. We work for a world free from torture, where the rights and dignity of all persons deprived of liberty are respected.
To achieve this vision we:
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Promote transparency and monitoring of places of detention to reduce the risk of torture and ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty.
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Advocate for legal and policy frameworks so that torture and other forms of ill-treatment are criminalized and prevented in law and practice
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Strengthen capacities of torture prevention actors and facilitate exchanges
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Contribute to informed public policy debates so torture can be universally rejected.
The IRCT is a health-based umbrella organisation that supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and the prevention of torture worldwide. Its members comprise more than 140 independent organisations in over 70 countries.
The IRCT's work is governed by these member organisations. The IRCT is the largest membership-based civil society organisation to work in the field of torture rehabilitation and prevention.
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization of religious organizations committed to ending torture that is sponsored or enabled by the United States.
NRCAT works for an end to torture in four areas:
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To ensure that U.S.-sponsored torture of detainees never happens again.
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To end the use of torture in U.S. prisons and detention facilities, in particular the prolonged use of solitary confinement.
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To end U.S. support (direct or indirect) of any country that engages in torture and to work for U.S. policies that help other nations stop their torture practices.
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To end the bigotry and hatred that promotes the practice and acceptance of torture against religiously, ethnically and other targeted groups.
For 30 years, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has fought against torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in a worldwide coalition of NGOs, the SOS-Torture Network.
Our mission is:
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Helping and supporting torture victims
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Preventing torture and fighting against impunity
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Protecting human rights defenders
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Accompanying and strengthening NGOs in the field
Our vision is a world free of torture and ill-treatment, in which every person is protected, where victims and their families obtain reparation and where the perpetrators are punished.
REDRESS is a human rights organisation that helps torture survivors obtain justice and reparation. REDRESS works with survivors to help restore their dignity, and to hold accountable the governments and individuals who perpetrate torture.
To achieve this mission, our key strategies are:
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Casework - providing legal assistance to individuals and communities in securing their rights
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Advocacy - with governments, parliaments, international organisations and the media
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Capacity Building - working in partnership with like-minded organisations around the world.
