Publications

The armed conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces  has caused unprecedented devastation. Rather than mitigating the magnitude of civilian harm caused by their fighting, the warring parties have each exploited the ongoing state of conflict to target civilians. This report is an abridged version of a submission made to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan in July 2024 and addresses one of the most prominent features of the targeting: the ongoing arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention, and torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by both sides of thousands of individuals, many of whom are civilians as part of a shadow war against civil society, human rights defenders, activists, and marginalised communities.

Esta guía se elaboró sobre la base de la Nota Práctica 2, originalmente publicada por REDRESS (en inglés) como parte de una serie de documentos diseñados para apoyar el litigio contra la tortura y/o malos tratos en nombre de los sobrevivientes de tortura. Está dirigida a víctimas y a sus familiares, abogadas/os y activistas que acompañan, legalmente, casos de tortura y/o malos tratos.

This report explores how the asset recovery mechanisms of the ICC can be deployed to obtain financial recovery for survivors of international crimes. It also provides guidance for national stakeholders on how to respond to, and implement, requests for cooperation by the Court to recover the assets of persons accused of international crime. It analyses the legal and institutional frameworks in eight European nations, and the United States, to assess their ‘readiness’ to respond to asset tracing and recovery requests from the ICC. The Annexures to the report examine in more detail the national laws of each Relevant State. REDRESS publishes this report as part of our work under the Global Initiative against Impunity, focused on strengthening the effectiveness of existing accountability frameworks to fight impunity and ensure reparations for survivors.

Submission by REDRESS to Australia's Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee inquiry into the wrongful detention of Australian citizens overseas. The submission outlines REDRESS's recommendations that the Australian Government assess its policies to ensure the protection of its nationals overseas from torture and ill-treatment, including consulting survivors and families to inform reforms. It suggests that Australia consider stronger responses to the arbitrary detention and State hostage-taking of its nationals, such as creating a dedicated team to handle such cases and ensuring legal accountability for perpetrators. Additionally, it suggests that the Australian Government should collaborate with allies on multilateral responses, such as sanctions, and consider introducing a legal right to consular assistance and mandatory diplomatic protection in certain cases.

In February 2024, the ICC delivered its largest Reparation Order in the case against Dominic Ongwen, awarding reparations to thousands of victims of his crimes. This briefing paper examines the Reparation Order and looks ahead to a survivor-centred implementation.

REDRESS urges the UK Government to re-direct the £783,827 recovered from sanctioned Russian oligarch Petr Aven to support survivors of the conflict in Ukraine. Petr Aven has once been described as one of “Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs”, with an estimated fortune of £4.5 billion, including a luxury estate outside London. On 29 July 2024, the National Crime Agency (NCA) recovered £783,287 which it argued had been held for the benefit of Mr Aven. REDRESS has long called for the repurposing of sanctions violations penalties to provide reparation for the survivors of Russia’s war. The forfeiture of Petr Avens’ funds provides a unique opportunity for the UK Government to act on this recommendation and make significant funds available to survivors of the conflict in Ukraine

The tenth edition of our bulletin features recent highlights of our work, including forming the ‘Global Initiative Against Impunity’ to address the global rise in impunity for international crimes and serious human rights violations. Amid a global surge in protests demanding change from those in power, we have also challenged the increasing use of torture as a weapon to suppress dissent. This is being done through our work with the United Against Torture Consortium and projects in Egypt, Sudan, and Belarus. The bulletin also features our efforts to secure reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, who are grappling with the long-lasting impacts of the violence they suffered, as well as our campaigns with the Survivor Advisory Group, a network of UK-based survivors of torture who guide our survivor-centred approach and policy advocacy in the UK.

This report was submitted to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan on 3 July 2024. It was prepared by the SOAS Centre for Human Rights Law, ACCESS, and REDRESS. The submission builds on over two decades of engagement, including law reform advocacy and litigation, particularly in cases of torture before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as well as research on justice for serious human rights violations in Sudan. It identifies the root causes of human rights violations and impunity in Sudan, which encompass political, legal, social, economic, and cultural factors that have engendered violence and a lack of accountability.