Justice
We pursue legal claims for survivors and the prosecution of perpetrators
Our Justice programme promotes access to justice for survivors of torture, an essential part of their recovery.
We bring human rights cases against governments, civil cases against individuals, and criminal cases where we advocate for law enforcement bodies to prosecute perpetrators under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Through this work we promote the right of access to justice under the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the absolute prohibition of torture.
We prioritise cases with a strategic objective – those that may bring about necessary legal, political, or social changes beyond the case. However, we seek always to ensure that the client and their needs are at the forefront of the process.
Our Justice programme demonstrates our commitment to stand with survivors and accompany them through the sometimes-lengthy justice process. We adopt a holistic approach, providing survivors with the help they might need, by referring them to specialist agencies for support beyond our expertise in areas such as housing, employment, health, and social support.
There are two main areas of work that fall under our Justice programme:
There are many torture survivors in the UK, both citizens and refugees. We bring legal claims on behalf of survivors based in the UK, ensure referrals for their psycho-social support, engage with their communities, and conduct advocacy to push for policy changes to improve their situation and address the underlying causes of torture. We encourage the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute perpetrators.
- Justice – International
Our project-based justice work is focused on specific jurisdictions in Africa, the Americas, and Asia where there is impunity for torture but where there are also opportunities for justice. We work with national partners to bring cases to domestic and regional courts, the UN Treaty Bodies, and the International Criminal Court on behalf of survivors of torture around the world. We also work with prosecutors in Europe to encourage universal jurisdiction cases.
REDRESS works to secure justice for survivors through projects and cases including:
- Justice for Torture Survivors in Sudan. We work with partners in Sudan to address obstacles to accountability for the gross human rights violations that occurred under former President Omar al-Bashir, and to realise the promises of Sudan’s revolution. We are litigating cases on behalf of torture survivors, encouraging universal jurisdiction prosecutions, and advocating for the introduction of anti-torture reforms in Sudan.
- International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB). We are co-leading a project with the NGO Dignity and national partners to collect, verify and preserve documentation and evidence of unprecedented human rights violations committed in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election in Belarus and in its aftermath.
- Survivors’ Perceptions of Justice in the UK. We are consulting with survivor communities within the UK in order to understand what ‘justice’ means to them in practice and to identify any barriers to accessing justice in a meaningful way.