It has recently been the task of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to expose and document human rights abuses perpetrated under the system of apartheid. As part of the TRC process, many survivors provided testimony in either a private statement or at a public hearing (for historical reference).
Western health professionals and the public have a misguided image of war and its aftermath that is often far removed from the actual experience of non-westernised societies. A British psychiatrist looks at the effects of war and at the belief that the emotional reactions of victims of war should be modified.
This publication provides information on Burma/Myanmar’s lack of compliance with human rights laws regarding political prisoners. This includes torture, the right to life, liberty and security of person, legal reform, restrictions on activists and the right to health and an adequate standard of living.
The “International Conference on Children, Torture and Other Forms of Violence: Facing the Facts, Forging the Future” brought together 183 participants from 73 countries from all regions, representing a wide range of international and national NGOs, other organisations and observers from governments and international governmental organisations.
Guideline for refugees and asylum seekers in Austria.
These guidelines are based on the International Federations publication, Psychological Support: best practices from Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes (2001), and other existing literature. They are intended as suggestions only and should be considered a source of inspiration rather than a standard checklist applicable for all emergency situations.
This leaflet is designed as a practical tool for delegates before, during and after their mission. Its aim is to help them to recognize, prevent and reduce stress in the Field.
This tool is applicable to forcibly displaced populations in humanitarian crisis as a result of persecution, war, and conflict. Given the evolution of humanitarian relief work, peace keeping and peace enforcing operations, increasingly, humanitarian protection and assistance is extended to besieged and non-displaced populations.
Physical abuse and torture are rampant in police custody in Azerbaijan. Police routinely beat detainees-whether suspected of petty common crimes or political offenses-to coerce them into confessing or giving testimony.
The objective of this Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
PHR Report shows Chinese authorities routinely use torture as a means of political repression, punishment and intimidation in Tibet.
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) carried out a national psychosocial needs assessment in East Timor in June and July 2000. The aim was to assess the extent of “torture and trauma and the health impact” it had on the population. The study results provided the basis for the proposed National Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program (for historical reference).
Over the past decade humanitarian actors have focused attention and resources on developing education as a specific intervention aimed at mitigating some of the physical and psychosocial distress affecting children during war.
PHR Report shows Chinese authorities routinely use torture as a means of political repression, punishment and intimidation in Tibet.
Reporting on the work of the Psychosocial Working Group. (A Joint Academic-Humanitarian Agency Initiative regarding response to the Psychosocial Needs of Refugees and War-affected Populations)
This document summarises the present position of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence on assisting populations exposed to extreme stressors, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, disaster survivors and terrorism-, war- or genocide-exposed populations.
two studies were conducted in order to examine the psychological, social, somatic and educational effects of chronic traumatic experience on Palestinian children over the six years of the Al-Aqsa Intifada 2000-2006.
Adapting to a new environment is a complicated and overwhelming experience for all new immigrants and refugees who have fled unsafe conditions in their native countries. For refugees who are also survivors of politically motivated torture, this transition is even more difficult because of the physical and psychological consequences of the torture they endured.
A book published on the occasion of the IRCT’s 20th anniversary, in 2005, tells the history of the organisation through personal tales and testimonies.
Psychological trauma is not like physical trauma: people do not passively register the impact of external forces but engage with them in an active and social way.
Many conflict-affected persons in Georgia are still suffering mental health problems years after the conflicts. A number of specific coping strategies appear to be associated with better mental health and should be encouraged and supported where possible.
Useful resources and information to guide interventions (kept for historical reasons).
The purpose of this fact sheet is to tell what is known about the impact of violence and disasters on children and adolescents and suggest steps to minimize long-term emotional harm.
This Field Manual is intended for mental health workers and other human service providers who assist survivors following a disaster. This pocket reference provides the basics of disaster mental health, with numerous specific and practical suggestions for workers.
Health issues related to changes in lifestyle are emerging with the long-term settlement of refugee communities. Reduced physical activity, diets high in fats and sugars, and smoking place refugee groups, particularly those from South Asian, Middle Eastern and African groups, at risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. Including refugee groups and their ethnic communities in mainstream prevention, screening and intervention services and iv Refugee Health Care: A handbook for health professionals programmes is of importance in maintaining good health outcomes for settled communities.
TORTURE Volume 19, Number 2,
Although torture in adults is well documented, studies that document its use against children, especially during war, are rare. This study documented the use of torture against children and its physical and psychological consequences during the war in Northern Uganda.
BMA has produced this guidance note in response to queries from doctors treating asylum seekers. (This particular briefing only addresses the rights of asylum seekers and not broader questions of the eligibility of overseas visitors to receive medical treatment in the UK).
Rwanda`s 1994 civil war officially ended in July of that year, but as massacres and episodes of genocide continue to erupt sporadically within and around Rwanda`s borders, the many faces of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continue to surface in dramatic ways (for historical reference).
People who are seeking asylum are not a homogeneous population. Coming from different countries and cultures, they have had, in their own and other countries, a wide range of experiences that may affect their mental and physical health and nutritional state. In the United Kingdom they face the effects of poverty, dependence, and lack of cohesive social support. All these factors undermine both physical and mental health.
Some 450 million people worldwide currently suffer from some form of mental disease or brain condition, but almost half the countries in the world have no explicit mental health policy and nearly a third have no program for coping with the rising tide of brain-related disabilities.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in Boston operates an Asylum Network of over 300 health care professionals to help people who have fled torture or other persecution in their native countries and are seeking political asylum in the United States. Volunteers conduct examinations of asylum applicants and prepare written testimony.
The main purpose is to review the relevant literature pertaining to Southeast Asian refugees experiences and to understand the manifestation of psychiatric disorders by examining historical, cultural, and contextual challenges.
The following report on torture survivors from Algeria who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom was written and presented to the British Parliament by Dr Michael Peel, a consultant occupational physician at the Medical Foundation. (also in german, for historical reference)
Close to one million refugees from around the world have entered the United States, fleeing repression, war, terrorism, and disease. It has been estimated that among these are thousands who have experienced torture. Many refugees and immigrants will appear in the offices of health care professionals with symptoms that may be related either directly or indirectly to torture.
We all use the word “trauma” in every day language to mean a highly stressful event. But the key to understanding traumatic events is that it refers to extreme stress that overwhelms a person`s ability to cope.
There is a growing awareness among healthcare providers that traumatic experiences are widespread and that it is common for people who have been traumatized to develop medical and psychological symptoms associated with the experience.
The “Field Guide to Child Soldier Programs in Emergencies” is one in a series compiled by Save the Children (SC) as part of its Children and War Capacity Building Initiative. The SC Children in Crisis Unit developed this initiative in order to support SC staff in responding to the priority care and protection needs of children and adolescents during new emergencies and in situations of chronic armed conflict or displacement.
Training Module on Women`s Traditional Conflict Resolution and Mediating Practices.
This report is based on a mental health survey of persons in Freetown, Sierra Leone in May 1999. Several months earlier the city saw fierce fighting that left more than 6000 people dead, an untold number injured and mutilated, and tens of thousands homeless. Many of those affected had gone through similar experiences before, and had fled to Freetown for its relative safety.
This report outlines the know problems of child soldiers and the different forms of recruiting. The report zooms in on the Colombia situation and the motives with which Colombian children join these armed groups. Finally there’s a list of actions that can be taken to change this situation and the contributions of War Child in these actions.
The psychological toll of living through six years of not knowing if this day will be their last is enormous. At least 3 million Syrian children under the age of six know nothing but war, and millions more have grown up in fear under the shadow of conflict. They are the next generation who will have to rebuild their shattered country – their future and the very future of Syria is in the balance (34 pages PDF).
In recent months, scores of Egyptians have been summoned to appear before military prosecutors, following their public criticism of the armed forces on-line, on television or in print. Among those summonsed have been political and human rights activists, bloggers, candidates for public office, and broadcasters and journalists. Some have been let go after questioning. Others have faced charges, detention and unfair trials before military courts.
There are a huge number of torture cases in Sri Lanka every year. Below are a few that the Asian Human Rights Commission has selected to illustrate the epidemic. The following cases are just a small fraction of the total number, however, they are useful as they all suggest a pattern, as follows (for historical reference).
Of all forms of violence, rape is considered the most cruel and inhuman form of torture. The fear of rape is common to all women, however, among Northeast Indian women this fear is heightened by the situation in which they live.
This article surveys issues related to the pursuit of reparation by victims of torture or their family members. What is the legal right to reparation, and how successfully has it been implemented in different countries?
This briefing paper examines the nature, extent and possible causes of torture in police custody in Cambodia during 2001 and 2002. It is hoped that the information in this paper will be used to raise awareness among government officials and the general public to the situation of torture in police custody; to illustrate the need for the alternative methods of criminal investigation by police officers; and to encourage regular independent monitoring of police stations to reduce the practice of torture.
Save the Children began in the aftermath of the First World War and the Russian revolution to help refugee and displaced children across Europe. Since then, wars, especially civil wars, have increased: More than 50 of them were raging in 1995. A central feature of these conflicts is that 80-90 percent of the victims are civilians, most of them women and children (for historical reference).
Understanding the modem use of torture entails the dispelling of myths about its nature and purpose. There remains a perception that torture is practiced randomly, that it is punishment carried to an extreme, that it is performed by psychopaths or sadists, that it exists outside of governmental responsibility and is practiced by “less civilized” societies.
Focus on the ground-breaking report by Graça Machel which drew global attention to the devastating impact of armed conflict on children. Millions of children are caught up in conflicts in which they are not merely bystanders, but targets. Some fall victim to a general onslaught against civilians; others die as part of a calculated genocide. Still other children suffer the effects of sexual violence or the multiple deprivations of armed conflict that expose them to hunger or disease. Just as shocking, thousands of young people are cynically exploited as combatants. (78 pages, .pdf, for historical reference)
Historically very few measures have been taken to address sexual violence against women committed during armed conflict, it is not true to say that there has always been complete silence about the issue. Belligerents have often capitalized upon the abuse of their women to garner sympathy and support for their side, and to strengthen their resolve against the enemy. Usually, the apparent concern for these women vanishes when the propaganda value of their suffering diminishes, and they are left without any prospect of redress (for historical reference).
The thousands of Americans who directly experienced the terror attacks on New York and Washington, and the millions who saw the resulting death and destruction on television, may encounter behavioral and emotional re-adjustment problems. Many post-traumatic stress symptoms are normal responses to an overwhelming stressor which may change our assumptions and create distress, but will reside in intensity with time. Experts agree that the amount of time it takes people to recover, depends both on what happened to them and on what meaning they gave to those events.
This manual has been created for professional use, to assist health practitioners in conducting evaluations of asylum applicants. It is not intended for general audiences because of the traumatic nature of the contents. It is important for any reader of this document to be prepared to process the strong emotional reactions that this material may evoke.
The Guidelines provide basic advice on appropriate action, particularly preventive, and are also intended to encourage active reflection and discussion between colleagues. They seek to promote attitudinal changes in relation to sexual violence where these are an obstacle, to improve or initiate services that address psychosocial as well as health needs, and, overall, to create an awareness and sensitivity to the special needs and concerns of refugees who have been subjected to sexual violence. (102 pages, .pdf for historical reference)
This resource guide for College Educators is offered as assistance to educators as they help students to become aware of the history and reality of refugees and asylees and to prepare for work among these newcomers as social work professionals.
The primary objective of this report is to examine the effectiveness, impact and relevance of international assistance on repatriation, rehabilitation, reconstruction and long-term development in Rwanda in the aftermath of the violence that destroyed or severely damaged much of Rwanda`s social, cultural and economic institutions.
This article explores the origin of the current Afghan crisis and describes the impact of a quarter of a century of incessant conflict on Afghan children.
We need to ask why children join armies. If we are to prevent children fighting we need to understand the conditions under which children become soldiers and work to improve these conditions. One such context, that of Sri Lanka, may shed some light on the issues.
The fifth periodic report of Norway was submitted on 5 February 2008. It conformed fully with the requirements laid down in the Committee`s reporting guidelines. It provided information, article by article, on new measures to implement the Convention taken since the submission of its last report and answered questions raised during the discussion of the fourth periodic report. The Committee also thanks the delegation for its oral information and its frank and precise replies to the questions raised by members of the Committee.
Torture is an experience without parallel; it is capable of causing a wide range of physical and psychological suffering. At the psychological level, torture places the victim in a position of helplessness end distress powerful enough to produce mental and emotional damage regardless of his pre-torture psychological status. The psychological effects of torture, however, occur in the context of personal meaning, personality development, and social, political, and cultural factors.
The Reporting Killings as Human Rights Violations Handbook is a reference guide for anyone who wishes to know how to take action in response to allegations of suspicious deaths. It explains, simply and clearly, how the process of reporting and submitting complaints to international bodies and mechanisms actually works; how to make the most of it: how you might go about documenting allegations, what you can do with the information once it has been collected, how to choose between the various mechanisms according to your particular objectives, and how to present your information in a way which makes it most likely that you will obtain a response.