Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims

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DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture (formerly RCT short for Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims) 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. [1]

Contents

DIGNITY employs professionals from several fields such as medicine, economics, anthropology and others; it runs a clinical research centre, creates policies and accumulates information to provide knowledge on torture and change the practice in order to abolish torture. [2] The institution works with the criminal justice system and local NGOs, monitoring places of detention and providing the NGOs with financial and technical resources. [2]

History

Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims was formed on 30 October 1982, about a decade after the beginnings of the organised international anti-torture work. [3] [4] The founders were doctors who used the premises of the neurological department of the Copenhagen University Hospital to treat torture victims in 1980-1982. [3] As the organisation grew, it built its own victim treatment centre, opened on 5 May 1984 [3] [4]

RCT became the first anti-torture organisation that received government funding. [5]

On 30 October 2012 RCT changed its name to DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture.

Notes

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Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carried out by the state, but others include non-state organizations.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom from Torture</span> British charity

Freedom from Torture is a British registered charity which provides therapeutic care for survivors of torture who seek protection in the UK. Since it was established in 1985, over 57,000 survivors of torture have been referred to the organisation for help and it is one of the world’s largest torture treatment centres.

RCT may refer to:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims</span> Non-governmental organization

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."

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 honour and support victims and survivors throughout the world.

This is a day on which we pay our respects to those who have endured the unimaginable. This is an occasion for the world to speak up against the unspeakable. It is long overdue that a day be dedicated to remembering and supporting the many victims and survivors of torture around the world.

On this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we express our solidarity with, and support for, the hundreds of thousands of victims of torture and their family members throughout the world who endure such suffering. We also note the obligation of States not only to prevent torture but to provide all torture victims with effective and prompt redress, compensation and appropriate social, psychological, medical and other forms of rehabilitation. Both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have now strongly urged States to establish and support rehabilitation centers or facilities.

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The Institute of Therapy and Investigation into the Effects of Torture and State Violence is a multidisciplinary non-governmental organisation based in Bolivia. It offers assistance to those affected directly or indirectly by torture and state violence through rehabilitative means.

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 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.

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The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) is an independent think-and-do tank providing multidisciplinary policy advice and practical support focused on prevention, the rule of law and current and emerging threats three important parts of effective counter-terrorism work. ICCT's work focuses on themes at the intersection of countering violent extremism and criminal justice sector responses, as well as human rights related aspects of counter-terrorism. The major project areas concern countering violent extremism, rule of law, foreign fighters, country and regional analysis, rehabilitation, civil society engagement and victims' voices.

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The Crew Against Torture is a Russian non-governmental organisation in the field of human rights based in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. CAT provides assistance to victims of torture and conducts independent investigation of torture cases. In addition, CAT publishes reports on systemic problems regarding the ineffectiveness of official investigations and prosecution of torture in Russia.

Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Although the distinction between torture and CIDT is maintained from a legal point of view, medical and psychological studies have found that it does not exist from the psychological point of view, and people subjected to CIDT will experience the same consequences as survivors of torture. Based on this research, some practitioners have recommended abolishing the distinction.

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