Ethics are a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy which defines what is good for individuals and society.
The medical work against torture began in 197411. The work took place in internationaland national NGO’s. In the beginning it concentrated on documenting torture. Medical examination of torture victims added evidence to reports on torture. The only way to stop torture was to put pressure on the government by exposing them to torture allegations. The usual reaction by the government was that the allegations were unfounded, communistic propaganda done by leftist activists.
The 4 links focuses on the medical, physical examination in connection with torture and other related human rights violations. The major content theme is divided into different organ systems that will be described with regard to the acute and somatic consequences of torture here and in the following two issues. Part I contains information regarding Literature review, Pitfalls, Skin lesions.
Your involvement in recording histories and exam findings and in referring patients for specialized care can restore lives. It can also aid in reversing the “invisibility” of torture survivors that perpetuates inadequate clinical education, research, and development of appropriate therapies.
This booklet contains guidelines for writing medical legal reports. The advice contained in this book concerns the provision of medical evidence to help substantiate (or evaluate) claims of ill-treatment and torture.
The purposes of effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (hereinafter “torture or other ill-treatment”) include the following: (a) Clarification of the facts and establishment and acknowledgement of individual and State responsibility for victims and their families; (b) Identification of measures needed to prevent recurrence; (c) Facilitation of prosecution and/or, as appropriate, disciplinary sanctions for those indicated by the investigation as being responsible and demonstration of the need for full reparation and redress from the State, including fair and adequate financial compensation and provision of the means for medical care and rehabilitation.
Torture survivors and those acting on their behalf face serious obstacles in accessing justice in Sudan. This has been recognised by reports issued by official bodies and nongovernmental organisations1 and was affirmed in a October 2004 legal training workshop in Khartoum, co-organised by the Sudanese Organisation against Torture (SOAT), the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Economic Development and REDRESS. The workshop brought together lawyers, civil society representatives, human rights organisations from different regions of Sudan, as well as representatives from the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, police and military to discuss strategies and options for improving access to justice for survivors of torture and other serious international crimes.
The information included represents a “getting started” and “where to go for more information” guide. We present options for providers along a continuum of services they might choose to provide, from implementing a survivor service component in their ongoing practice to developing a full-service torture rehabilitation program.
The RCT Documentation Centre and Library “holds the world’s most extensive special collection of published documents on torture and related subjects. In addition to books, reports, and articles the library holds a large collection of pictures and video materials.”
OMCT’s Handbook Series consists offour volumes, each one providing a detailed guide to the practice, procedures,and jurisprudence of the regional and international mechanisms that arecompetent to examine individual complaints concerning the violation of theabsolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment.
The right to redress for victims of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide is soundly established as a right under international law, including both the right to an “effective remedy” and to “reparation”. Reparation refers to ways in which the victim can be restored, and it may be understood as attempts to reestablish dignity, recreate a sense of balance, and reconstruct a life after human rights violations. In this article, the experiences of persons affected by gross human rights violations during the dictatorship in Argentina, with regard to economic reparations for their suffering and losses, are explored.
A solid and detailed study (186 p.) on the issue of Secret Detention, which is concluded to be a violation of international human rights law, and may facilitate the perpetration of torture. Detailed status quo concerning Secret Detention in the different continents/states.
This report seeks to examine the procedures as well as the jurisprudence of the African Commission on the right to reparation for victims of gross human rights violations, in light of the evolving international standards and taking into account the practice of other international and regional human rights mechanisms.
This rapport (112 p) presents a solid overview of the survivor`s perceptions of reparation. It comes along with definitions and discusses the problem of the reactions to reparations and the processes which are necessarily involved.
Through a combined legal and social science analysis, this paper reflects on one of the root concepts of reparation. As reparation occurs in response to victimization, this paper concentrates on the notion of a victim.1 The notion of the victim will be explored from a socio-political perspective and from an international legal perspective. By way of conclusion, these two approaches will be interwoven in order to consider a more comprehensive definition of a victim.
The thousands of human beings who have already been through the severe pain of torture also face a range of devastating long-term consequences. In particular, survivors of torture frequently experience chronic pain, headaches, insomnia, nightmares, depression, flashbacks, anxiety, and panic attacks, and can become overwhelmed by feelings of fear, helplessness and even guilt because of what happened to them.
In the resolution 1985/33 the United Nations Commission of Human Rights decided to appoint an expert, a special rapporteur, to examine questions relevant to torture. This mandate covers all countries, irrespective of whether a State has ratified the Convention against Torture. – Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture SPT started its work in 2007. According to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture OPCAT the STP is given the right to visit places of detention and examine the treatment of people held there. – OHCHR.
The Committee against Torture CAT is the body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementation of the “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” by its State Parties. – OHCHR.
This report is the first to comprehensively examine the use of psychological torture by US personnel in the so- called “war on terror.”1 It reviews the techniques used on detainees, what clinical experience and studies reveal about the long-lasting and extremely devastating health consequences of psychological torture, how a regime of psychological torture came about and was perpetuated, and what the current status of psychological torture is in US policy.
From the dingy dungeons of the Dark Ages to today’s shadowy holding facilities, the use of torture as an interrogation tactic has evolved little and possibly yielded even less, in terms of intelligence.
Beatings and psychological torture are the most common forms reported to the Center for Victims of Torture™ (CVT). CVT clinicians have documented more sophisticated forms of torture over the years, especially methods of psychological torture, that do not leave physical scars. This makes it more difficult for survivors to seek redress or make asylum claims.
What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph? These are some of the questions we posed in this dramatic simulation of prison life conducted in 1971 at Stanford university.
The history of torture teaches us two lessons: first, that our inventive capacity for inflicting pain and terror on our fellow human is shockingly expansive. Second, that the only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history: similar patterns of violence and humiliation resurface with sinister regularity. Sometimes even the torturer’s rhetoric echoes down the centuries.
Detainees may be subjected to torture and extra-judicial execution by State actors and terrorists. But, the pathology of torture has not been well-described. This is due to the lack of autopsies performed on victims of torture, mostly due to the disposal of the bodies of the victims by their torturers. On this basis, the cause of death of detainees subjected to torture is often a matter of speculation or remains obscure.
This represents a great overview helping to understand the psychology of torture, with explanations, aspects on effects and recovery
The legal definition of torture in human rights law differs quite significantly from the way the term is commonly used in the media or in general conversation.
Article 7 Every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises: a) the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force; b) the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a competent court or tribunal.
Right to Judicial Protection 1. Everyone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties.
Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.
This convention was drafted in 1950, entry into force in 1953. It established the European Court of Human Rights. This international treaty, ratified by all Council of Europe member states, is to protect human rights and fundamental freedom in Europe. Article #3 No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The United Nations have edited a series of quite useful Fact Sheets. This one targeting combating torture covers lists of pertinent international instruments, treaty monitoring bodies, special rapporteurs, as well as mentions the UN voluntary fond for victims of torture and selected (special) issues. Annex with complaint forms and guidelines.
The Covenant is a multilateral treaty, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966, entry into force in 1976. It represents a part of the International Bill of Human Rights. The Covenant is monitored by the Human Rights Committee.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. There is one absolute prohibition in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that is universally accepted as unequivocal: Article 5’s ban on torture. At times, states may have disputed the definition of what constitutes torture, but virtually none now openly defend the practice, even if some still carry it out in what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described as “some of the darkest corners of our planet.”
The article focuses on survivors’ perspectives of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It probes their feelings, thoughts and views both before and after interacting with the Commission. Their feelings and opinions about issues such as justice, punishment and amnesty are explored. This information, which forms the backbone of this article, was obtained from interviews with twenty survivors of political violence committed under the apartheid government
The purpose of the bibliography that follows is to give students, researchers, and practitioners, many of them new to the field, a sense of the scope of this burgeoning literature and, by consulting the annotations attached to many of the more influential works, a sense of its depth and thematic concerns, as well (The bibliography is limited to works published in English).
The research focuses particularly on the study of the South African Truth Commission. The mandate of the South African Truth Commission is analysed; and the investigation into whether the commission served the purpose for which it had been established is discussed.
This essay identifies a number of problematic issues concerning transitional justice and restorative justice in particular and suggests that they can be fruitfully explored through thoughtful examination of the truth-seeking projects of this issue’s case countries: South Africa, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
Having looked at various Truth, Justice and Reconciliation commissions within the commonwealth, the paper will draw attention to key features of the commissions and compare them with the provisions in our TJRC Act and this will be followed by recommendations of how the Kenyan process can be improved to meet the standards of the best of the commissions and to avoid the pitfalls of the inadequately performing commissions.
The aim of this study was to explore the experience of victims who testified at the public hearings of the Human Rights Violations Committee, their evaluation of their participation and its longer-term impact on their lives. It seeks to engage both immediate reactions at the time of the hearing with reflections on how deponents view the experience within the broader context of interaction with the TRC.
While there is growing interest in examining what long-term impact truth commissions have on society, our understanding has been hampered by a number of empirical problems. Specifically, most studies focus on a small biased subsample of cases, rely on anecdotal evidence and normative conviction, and fail to follow the truth commission’s legacy beyond its immediate reception. What is more, although a range of purposes have been put forward for truth commissions, there is little consensus on what criteria might be used to assess them. These issues are further compounded by a growing chorus of critics who see truth commissions as either ineffectual or dangerous.
The organizers had grappled with what seemed like a singular paradox. Several truth commissions had been created after armed conflicts, with a growing tendency towards uniformity in their mandates. At the same time, knowledge of the challenges faced by truth commissions has continued to grow, with a strong prescriptive bent, derived from the observation of comparative experiences. Despite the expansion of this collective knowledge, however, some recent truth-seeking processes have gone through near-paralyzing crises.
The objective of this paper is to explore the initiatives and practices of different countries in truth seeking. Many countries during the post-conflict, colonial, slavery, anarchical and cultural genocide periods establish the Truth Commissions to respond to the past human wrongdoings: crimes and crimes against humanity. Enforced Disappearances (ED), killings, rapes and inhumane tortures are wrongdoings. Truth Commission applies the method of recovering silences from the victims for structured testimonies. The paper is prepared based on the victim-centric approach. The purpose reveals the piecemeal fact-findings to heal the past, reconcile the present and protect the future.
Transitional justice represents itself as both a discourse and practice that exists primarily to support victims of human rights violations and gains its moral legitimacy from the fact that victims are deserving and the claim that transitional justice has the aim of acknowledging victims and providing redress. Here, this claim is interrogated in the light of a practice that actually appears to be rooted in liberal state-building and for which victims are an essential instrument of prescribed mechanisms of transitional justice, such as trials and truth commissions.
Recommendations for policies and procedures for addressing and involving children in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Children and youth are among the most vulnerable groups affected by violence in armed conflict or massive abuses of repressive regimes. If breaches of basic human rights become the norm, they are left acutely vulnerable to physical harm, psychological trauma, displacement, recruitment by armed factions or other forms of exploitation.
To support true healing of war-affected populations, including children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups, transitional justice efforts must attend to the often lasting psychosocial consequences of war in the post-conflict environment. Advocacy pursued under a transitional justice agenda has a role to play in emphasizing the need not just for special courts or truth and reconciliation processes but also for the funding of social services institutions and the development of sustainable health infrastructure, thus helping post-conflict governments to deliver social services to their citizens as part of a strategy to support collective healing and secure peace.
ICTJ engages with young people as political actors in their own right, helping them shape the futures of their communities. We open up spaces for them to actively participate in transitional justice processes and give voice to their perspectives. Their contributions often challenge the status quo and shine a light on pressing issues that must be addressed to build sustainable peace.
This website provides a great overview on this topic, with links highlighting all the different challenges when trying to address human rights violations especially in children. Target group: mostly professionals working on this subject, but also interested clients.
Presentation of some programs and funds USIP is taking care of. The institute strives to encourage more practice and scholarly work on women, and seeks to deepen understanding of the role of women in conflict and peace.
This book (352 p.) presents an overview over the topic as well as some case-studies (South Africa, Guatemala, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste). We find examples of “first positive practices of incorporating gender thinking into transitional justice measures and processes”, and it states how peace building and reconciliation, development in the aftermath of violence can be supported by gender-sensitive planning and policy. Target Group: professionals.
Recognizing the differences between women’s and men’s experience during the immediate post-conflict or transitional period, and consequently including the particular needs and abilities of women and men in postconflict reconstruction, is fundamental to create lasting peace and foster equitable development. The World Bank endeavors to better understand both gender and conflict dimensions in its work.
Short overview over the project on gender and reparations, ICTJ presents and is holding on with.
The article examines the implementation of UNSCR 1325 ‘Women, Peace, and Security’ within the framework of post-colonial feminism. The author argues that in current international development co-operation, there is a need for deeper understanding of the complex, context-relevant social and political power structures and processes that prevent gender programming from enhancing gender justice.
This thesis analyze the relationships between mechanisms of transitional justice and gender-specific crimes. The work is based on a study of two case studies. The first is South Africa, which, after Apartheid, favoured restorative justice; and whose leading initiative was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The second case study concerns Cambodia which has set up, with the help of the UN, a hybrid tribunal.
This working paper has done two things: First, it has offered an overview of the EU Policy Framework on support to transitional justice and its understanding of gender justice. Second, the paper has demonstrated that the EU has a conservative normative approach towards gendering transitional justice. It is clear that, although the EU labels its approach as inclusive, flexible and gender sensitive, the actions proposed do not follow suit.
This is a very detailed book (244 p.) containing almost all approaches within the challenge to help in the aftermath of war, conflict or disaster to develop a stabile community (unfortunately no focus in special on mental health).
This guide (126 p.)provides a great overview over the topic psychosocial trauma healing in post-conflict social reconstruction. It is given a description of stress-/trauma-symptoms, offering exercises turned out to be useful, guidelines to set up training settings for survivors, all with the insight that healing is necessary to social reconstruction. Target group: clinicians.
This handbook discusses the demand of better tools to address the subject of reconciliation, and the challenges of democratization after violent conflicts. Target group: (legal) professionals working with reconciliation. – International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance