International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims

Last updated
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
Founded1985 by Inge Genefke
Type Non-profit
NGO
Location
Secretary-General
Lisa Henry
Award(s) Right Livelihood Award
Website irct.org

The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) is an independent, international health professional organization that promotes and supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and works for the prevention of torture worldwide. Based in Denmark, the IRCT is the umbrella organization for over 160 independent torture rehabilitation organizations in 76 countries that treat and assist torture survivors and their families. They advocate for holistic rehabilitation for all victims of torture, which can include access to justice, reparations, and medical, psychological, and psycho-social counseling. The IRCT does this through strengthening the capacity of their membership, enabling an improved policy environment for torture victims, and generating and share knowledge on issues related to the rehabilitation of torture victims. Professionals at the IRCT rehabilitation centers and programs provide treatment for an estimated 100,000 survivors of torture every year. Victims receive multidisciplinary support including medical and psychological care and legal aid. The aim of the rehabilitation process is to empower torture survivors to resume as full a life as possible. In 1988, IRCT, along with founder Inge Genefke, was given the Right Livelihood Award "for helping those whose lives have been shattered by torture to regain their health and personality." [1]

Contents

History

The medical response to the problem of torture began in 1973 with the launch of a campaign by Amnesty International (AI) to help and diagnose torture victims. At this time, very little was known about torture methods or the physical or psychosocial consequences for torture victims. [2] [3] The first AI group to start this work was founded in Denmark in 1974 and consisted of four voluntary doctors. This group was part of a network of some 4,000 medical doctors from 34 countries worldwide. It quickly became evident that, in addition to documenting cases of torture for use in potential legal proceedings, it was also critical to identify methods to help treat and rehabilitate victims of torture. This resulted in the establishment in 1978 of the first medical international working group to address the rehabilitation of torture victims, which held the first international medical seminar on torture, Violations of Human Rights – Torture and the Medical Profession, in Athens, Greece. [4] In 1979, members of the Danish medical group obtained permission to admit and examine torture victims at Copenhagen University Hospital, in Denmark. Three years later, in 1982, the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) was founded in Copenhagen by Dr. Inge Genefke, MD, as an independent institution with its own premises. [2] In response to a growing need for global support and assistance in the rehabilitation of torture victims, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims was founded in 1985, initially as the international arm of the RCT, and, from 1997, as an international and independent organization. [5] In 2010, the IRCT celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Members

The list of IRCT members includes more than 160 members in 76 countries.

Work

The work of the IRCT can be divided into three areas:

The stated vision of the IRCT is "a world that values and accepts shared responsibility for the eradication of torture". [6] The objective of the organization is to promote the provision of specialized treatment and rehabilitation services for victims of torture and to contribute to the prevention of torture globally. To further these goals, the IRCT seeks on an international basis:

The IRCT has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and the UN Department of Public Information, and participatory status with the Council of Europe. [7] Important collaboration partners include (but are not limited to) the World Medical Association (WMA), the World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT), the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The IRCT also works in partnership with governments, human rights organizations, health professional organizations, and intergovernmental organizations.

Publications

Structure

The IRCT comprises four bodies: the General Assembly, the Council, the Executive Committee, and the General Secretariat.

General Assembly

The IRCT General Assembly meets every three years and comprises accredited rehabilitation centers and programs worldwide. The General Assembly provides a forum in which representatives of rehabilitation centers and programs, and others working in related fields, may facilitate and press forward the global work against torture. The first IRCT General Assembly was conducted as a Written General Assembly on 16 June – 6 July 2003. All rehabilitation centers and programs that are accredited with the IRCT were eligible to participate in the General Assembly, the forum in which the IRCT Council is elected. A total of 94 accredited rehabilitation centers and programs participated in the 2003 IRCT Written General Assembly.

Council and Executive Committee

According to the IRCT Statutes and Bylaws, the IRCT Council is elected by the General Assembly and comprises up to 30 members, 27 representing rehabilitation centers and programs worldwide, and three independent experts. The Council is the principal policy-making and advisory standard-setting body of the IRCT, and includes the seven members of the Executive Committee.

The allocation of seats to the IRCT Council by region is as follows:

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the operational body of the IRCT, responsible for the management and implementation of the IRCT's policies and programmes in support of the rehabilitation of torture victims and the prevention of torture worldwide. The General Secretariat consists of the Office of the Secretary-General, Administration and Finance Team, Communications Team, Membership Team, Health Team, Advocacy and Legal Team and Liaison Offices in Brussels and Geneva.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torture</span> Deliberate infliction of suffering on a person

Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, intimidating third parties, or entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Convention Against Torture</span> International human rights instrument against torture and cruel or unusual punishment

The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights treaty under the review of the United Nations that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</span> Intergovernmental organization

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations Office at Vienna, adopting the current name in 2002.

Inge Genefke is a Danish campaigner and worker on behalf of torture victims. She received the Right Livelihood Award in 1988 "for helping those whose lives have been shattered by torture to regain their health and personality."

The International Federation for Human Rights is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international human rights organization worldwide after Anti-Slavery International and Save the Children. As of 2020, the organization is made up of a federation of 192 organizations from 112 countries, including Israel and Palestine, including Ligue des droits de l'homme in over 100 countries.

International Council may refer to:

José Quiroga Fuentealba is a cardiologist who served as a physician to Chilean president Salvador Allende. During the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, Quiroga witnessed the Chilean Army assault the government palace. He was detained and beaten until his release was ordered by a Chilean military general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture</span> 2002 treaty supplementing the UN Convention Against Torture

The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is a treaty that supplements to the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture. It establishes an international inspection system for places of detention modeled on the system that has existed in Europe since 1987.

The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is an international observance held annually on 26 June to speak out against the crime of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world. The first 26 June events were launched in 1998.

Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims is a Bangladeshi NGO, working in the area of rehabilitation of trauma victims. It was established in 1992. BRCT began its journey by providing medical treatment, legal support, and rehabilitation to the victims on 25 February 1992 with support from foreign medical experts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Victims of Torture</span> US-based non-profit organization

The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) is an international non-profit headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that provides direct care for those who have been tortured, trains partner organizations in the United States and around the world who can prevent and treat torture, conducts research to understand how best to heal survivors, and advocates for an end to torture.

DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture is a self-governing institution independent of party politics located in Denmark. The institution works to expose and document torture on a health professional basis, develop clinical diagnoses and treatment methods of torture survivors, educate in order to contribute to the global effort to abolish torture. DIGNITY's work has both Danish and international reach, mainly focussing on the prevention of torture and the rehabilitation of torture victims.

<i>Torture</i> (journal) Academic journal

Torture: Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture is a peer-reviewed medical journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture, published triannually by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.

Reparations are broadly understood as compensation given for an abuse or injury. The colloquial meaning of reparations has changed substantively over the last century. In the early 1900s, reparations were interstate exchanges that were punitive mechanisms determined by treaty and paid by the surrendering side of a conflict, such as the World War I reparations paid by Germany and its allies. Reparations are now understood as not only war damages but also compensation and other measures provided to victims of severe human rights violations by the parties responsible. The right of the victim of an injury to receive reparations and the duty of the part responsible to provide them has been secured by the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Program for Torture Victims</span>

The Program for Torture Victims (PTV) is a non-profit organization that provides medical, psychological, case management and legal services to torture survivors. PTV serves more than 300 victims of state-sponsored torture from over 65 countries annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition</span>

The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization based in the United States that works to end the practice of torture internationally and to support the survivors of torture and their families. TASSC is concerned not only with the prevention of torture but also addresses its aftermath, the individual survivor, family, community, and society. In addition to creating a worldwide network of International Communities of Healing for torture survivors and their families, TASSC also seeks to influence domestic and international policy through advocacy, social action, public testimony, and targeted media campaigns. The organization monitors human rights violations in nations where TASSC members may be at risk, operates Helping Hands, a direct assistance program for survivors, and coordinates the annual United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors. TASSC was founded in 1998 by Sister Dianna Ortiz, an American survivor of torture while a missionary in Guatemala. The office of TASSC is located in Washington, D.C.

Center for Survivors of Torture (CST) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in Dallas, Texas with an office in Austin, Texas. CST was founded in 1997 with the mission of rehabilitating international torture survivors through counseling, medical, legal, and social services.

The Inge Genefke Award is granted every second year by the Anti-Torture Support Foundation to a person who has carried out particularly outstanding work against torture. Named after Dr. Inge Genefke, a Danish physician and trailblazer in the worldwide fight against torture, the award can not be applied for, but is given by the decision of the board of the Anti-Torture Support Foundation.

Since 1996 the editors of the European editions of the Reader's Digest magazine have named "European of the Year" individuals who best embody the traditions and values of Europe.

The Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture (PSOT) was established in 1995 as joint project of Bellevue Hospital Center and the New York University School of Medicine to address the complex needs of torture survivors residing in the New York Metropolitan area. Since its founding, the Program continues to operate from Bellevue Hospital Center, located at 462 First Avenue CD723, New York City, NY 10016. The Program is the first and largest torture treatment center in the New York City area, providing multidisciplinary and comprehensive medical, mental health, legal, and social services to victims of torture and their families. PSOT's mission is to assist individuals subjected to torture and other human rights abuses to rebuild healthy, self-sufficient lives, and contribute to global efforts to end torture. Since its inception in 1995, PSOT has provided care to help rebuild the lives of more than 5,000 men, women, and children from over 100 countries.

References

  1. "Inge Genefke / Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims". The Right Livelihood Award. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  2. 1 2 "RCT´s history". RCT. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  3. "The history of Amnesty International". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  4. Violations of Human Rights: Torture and the Medical Profession, New England Journal of Medicine.
  5. "History". IRCT. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  6. "What is the IRCT?". IRCT. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  7. List of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council as of 1 September 2010, United Nations.

Further reading