With torture still widespread, six of the world’s leading anti-torture organisations, in partnership with over 200 civil society organisations and other partners in more than 100 countries, have joined forces to strengthen and expand the anti-torture movement by pooling expertise in torture prevention, protection, rehabilitation, and strategic litigation.
The Consortium brings Omega, the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), and REDRESS together with the global memberships of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), and the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT).
Survivors’ experiences and, for those who wish, their direct participation, will be at the centre of the consortium’s torture prevention, rehabilitation, and justice processes, both nationally and internationally.
There is an urgent need to tackle the current global rise of autocracy, the shrinking space for civil society, an alarming acceptance of torture among some sectors of the public and the dire need to deliver justice to survivors amid unprecedented levels of systematic and widespread torture.
Together, we are more than the sum of our parts and we will work innovatively, tirelessly, and strategically to strengthen and expand the anti-torture movement for a world free of torture and ill-treatment.
Protecting and promoting human rights and democracy is a key priority of EU external action and one of the founding values of the European Union, which provides funding to the Consortium.
Joint statements, submissions, and press releases:
- June 2023 United Against Torture Consortium announcement
- October 2023 statement on Israel – OPT/Gaza
- Statement in advance of the Bangladesh elections
- November 2023 submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture’s thematic report on current issues and good practices in prison management
- December 2023 press release to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- December 2023 Pledge submitted by the OMCT to the Human Rights 75 Secretariat
- January 2024 statement after Bangladesh elections
- February 2024 statement on Israel/Palestine
- May 2024 statement on Georgia
- May 2024 joint press release on Congo and the OPCAT
- June 2024 press release to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
- June 2024 interview with UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Dr Alice Jill Edwards in English, Spanish, and French
- July 2024 statement on Bangladesh
- July 2024 interview with human rights activist Sayed AlWadaei in English, Arabic, Spanish, and French
- August 2024 statement on Kenya
- August 2024 interview with former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E Méndez in English and Spanish
- August 2024 interview with human rights activist Manuel Rojas Boyán in English, French, and Spanish
- September 2024 interview with human rights activist Assohou Wanga Wenceslas in English, French, and Spanish
- October 2024 statement on Israel/Palestine
- October 2024 interview with Saira Rahman Khan of Odhikar, Bangladesh in English, French, and Spanish