Publications

REDRESS jointly with seven other human rights organisations has published an open letter following a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and Sunday Times which found evidence that the Ministry of Defence and some elements within the Armed Forces had allegedly covered up evidence of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. The letter from REDRESS, Freedom from Torture, Liberty, Rights Watch UK, Human Rights Watch, ECCHR, and the Rendition Project was sent on 20 November 2019 to the main UK political parties.

Our Annual Review 2019 sets out what REDRESS has achieved from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. This has included a timely report on reparations at the International Criminal Court on victim participation, responding to the situation in Sudan, and organising a broad coalition of NGOs to prepare a report on torture and ill-treatment in the United Kingdom for the UN Committee against Torture. It has also included addressing the need for effective consular protection for dual nationals detained abroad, including obtaining for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe the status of diplomatic protectionfor the first time in a human rights case . In fighting discriminatory torture, we have highlighted the problem of torture in the context of migration and LGBTI rights, and brought the landmark case of Azul Rojas Marin before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Our post-conflict work in Uganda has led to the creation of the first national platform for victims of the armed conflict, the Uganda Victims and Survivors Network, and our projects on SGBV enabled national NGOs to engage effectively on the issue. We also advanced universal jurisdiction cases in several jurisdictions.  

This submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United States of America focuses on the United States’ longstanding failure to provide effective remedy and redress, including medical care, and guarantee fair trials to the “High Value Detainees” who are still held in Guantánamo, including Mustafa Al-Hawsawi. It was made by REDRESS jointly with the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

This Policy Guidance Note follows a report published in March 2019 by REDRESS on the rights of victims of crimes in pre-trial and immigration detention in the Netherlands. Drawing from the report, from international and European standards identified by the project’s consortium of NGOs, cases, reports by international committees, and consultations with key stakeholders in the field, the Policy Guidance Note addresses policy recommendations to relevant authorities in the Netherlands.

A REDRESS report explores the effectiveness of the current legal system in the Netherlands in ensuring the rights of victims of violence in pre-trial and immigration detention.

This report sets out what REDRESS has achieved from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018. This has included addressing the need for effective consular protection for dual nationals detained abroad, and ongoing challenges to immunities for torture. In establishing international standards, we continued our work to highlight the problem of torture in the context of migration, sharing our ideas with various UN experts. Our post-conflict work in Kenya, Uganda, and the Central African Republic led to new cases and new structures for domestic trials, and our projects on SGBV enabled national NGOs to engage effectively on the issue. We advanced universal jurisdiction cases in several jurisdictions. We continued to monitor the operations of the ICC, and make suggestions for even greater participation of victims. We issued a number of influential reports, including on sexual abuse in the context of peace-keeping operations, and the criminalisation of women in Sudan. REDRESS also celebrated 25 years since it was founded, and we reflect on what has been achieved, and explore how we can have an even greater impact.

This report on our activities gives details of the many victims of torture for whom REDRESS has acted between 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. It also sets out our impact over the last 12 months. This includes a timely report on reparations at the International Criminal Court, responding to the situation in Sudan, and organising a broad coalition of NGOs to prepare a report on torture and ill-treatment in the United Kingdom for the UN Committee against Torture.

In this letter, submitted ahead of the 42nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, REDRESS and other civil society organisations urge the Council to take action to address serious human rights violations and abuses that have been and continue to be committed in Sudan, and to support systemic reforms in the country.