Publications

This VRWG briefing note offers recommendation ahead of the confirmation of charges hearing against Khaled Mohammed Ali El Hishri on 19 May 2026 at the ICC, drawing on lessons from the confirmation of charges hearing in the case of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The REDRESS 2030 Strategy sets out our priorities for 2026–2030 in response to the challenges facing the anti-torture movement and our areas of expertise. Our work will focus on five programmes: Justice and Reparation; challenging torture linked to Dissent and Discrimination; and strengthening the anti-torture movement through our Solidarity Programme. We will also develop new initiatives to challenge the torture of climate defenders and journalists, expose abuses against refugees and migrants, advance financial accountability and reparation funds to provide reparation to survivors, and promote survivor participation and movement-building.

Our Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Sanctions Mid-Year Update provides an overview of recent developments in the United States’ (U.S.), United Kingdom’s (UK), European Union’s (EU), Canada’s, and Australia’s use of their targeted human rights and anticorruption sanctions programmes from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025.

This Casebook catalogues leading cases against torture used to silence dissent, intimidate human rights defenders and journalists, and target protesters and political dissidents. It covers cases across the globe that used strategic litigation and that serve as examples of the potential of creative litigation to transform the law, prompt policy reforms, and trigger broader practical changes. It tells the stories of 26 cases brought before different jurisdictions such as the IACtHR, the ACHPR, the ACtHPR, the ECOWAS Court, the ECtHR, and UN treaty bodies and Special Procedures, including the CEDAW Committee and the UN WGAD. This is the second casebook in our series cataloguing leading strategic cases against torture. The Torture Litigation Casebook series showcases around 80 case studies of strategic litigation against torture from around the world to illustrate best practices and to help lawyers and activists prepare for litigation.     

When British nationals are unfairly detained or facing human rights abuses abroad they – and their constituency MPs – expect the Government to act. Yet, in the UK, consular assistance is discretionary, not a legal right. In its manifesto, Labour promised to introduce a right to consular assistance. But two years on, the Government has done nothing to deliver on that commitment. This briefing lays out why the UK Government should introduce a legal right to consular assistance for British nationals who are arbitrarily detained or facing serious human rights abuses abroad.

This briefing paper presents the perspectives of survivors of torture and other serious human rights violations during Bangladesh’s July/August 2024 uprising. It examines their experiences, priorities, and barriers related to justice, accountability, and reparation, to inform survivor‑centred reparation initiatives aligned with international human rights standards. The information in this briefing is based on 2025 interviews with 80 survivors conducted by the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) using UN-based tools adapted to Bangladesh. The interviews documented violations suffered, survivor profiles, justice priorities, and expectations of reparation.  

The Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review 2026 compiles developments in 91 extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction cases prosecuted in 20 countries. The figures, increasing year by year, show the growing importance of universal jurisdiction in the fight against impunity worldwide. Published by TRIAL International, in collaboration with Civitas Maxima, the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and REDRESS.

United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) members, IRCT, FIACAT, Omega, OMCT, and REDRESS, together with Change Africa Trust, the Center for Strategic Litigation, and the Pan African Lawyers Union, have made a joint submission as part of the 4th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Tanzania. The submission exposes the scale and nature of a continued pattern of serious violations, including torture and other ill‑treatment, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, and a crackdown on freedoms of expression, assembly, digital rights, and access to information in Tanzania. It also sets out targeted recommendations to address key gaps in protection and accountability.