Today the international community marks two significant and historic events: the signing 75 years ago of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco,  which laid the foundations for the global multilateral human rights system, and the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, both taking place on 26 June.

As a group of UN Member States, we support a strong United Nations and its comprehensive human rights framework. Made up of treaties and other commitments, the UN is based on both equality between States as well as between people. Regrettably, persecution, discrimination and torture persist, which is why we formed the CTI – the Convention against Torture Initiative in 2014 – to bring renewed attention to the particularly egregious crime of torture and to play our part in its total eradication.

This day – 26 June – focuses our collective attention on the unacceptably high human, social as well as economic costs of practices of torture and ill-treatment, and rallies all UN Member States to review and adjust their national systems and structures to be able to serve our communities with dignity. We acknowledge the survival and resilience of the hundreds of thousands of individuals transitioning from hurt to healing, including those still undergoing rehabilitative treatment today.

In our work as core members of CTI, we underscore the critical efforts being undertaken by a wide range of States and other actors to combat the continuing prevalence of torture and ill-treatment and in restoring community cohesion and reconciliation. Many States have implemented good rehabilitation practices which can inspire domestic reforms, which CTI has documented in our UNCAT implementation tool. These practices cover rehabilitation methodologies, legislative frameworks, needs assessments, funding structures, and arrangements for cooperation and referral between government agencies and other voluntary or private service providers.

As a State-led initiative, CTI encourages periodic system-wide reviews and  improvements in line with United Nations’ human rights commitments, including investing in holistic rehabilitation for victims as reflected in article 14 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

For its part, the CTI has also facilitated numerous exchanges, as well as the sharing of good practices and advice to enhance the capacities of States in addressing torture.

CTI further welcomes the important work of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture* in its efforts to restitute victims and their families, and resolve ongoing access gaps in rehabilitation and redress.

Joint Statement of the Governments of Chile, Denmark, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco as part of the Convention against Torture Initiative

For more information on the CTI, please consult https://cti2024.org/ or contact the CTI Secretariat at info@cti2024.org, or the Permanent Missions of any of the CTI Core States in Geneva or New York.

CTI Rehabilitation Resources

• Report of CTI Regional meeting on rehabilitation for victims of torture for countries in the OSCE region, held in Copenhagen, on 23-24 June 2016
• Report of CTI-OSCE workshop on rehabilitation for victims of torture, held in Vienna, on 12 October 2016
• Report of Second CTI-OSCE workshop on rehabilitation for victims of torture, held in Vienna, on 21 June 2018
• CTI Implementation Tool 5/2018 on providing rehabilitation to victims of torture and other ill-treatment