Publications

Reflecting on REDRESS’ work on the Nazanin’s case, REDRESS has submitted evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee inquiry into the handling of state level hostage situations. The submission focuses on diplomatic protection, hostage recognition, torture, Magnitsky sanctions and consular protection.

In this letter, REDRESS requests the UK government to engage civil society including victim and survivor groups on the repurposing of £2.5 billion ('the funds') following Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club. It is reported that the funds will be forfeited to the UK government and earmarked for a charitable foundation to aid victims of the war in Ukraine. This presents a unique opportunity for the UK to have a profound impact on the lives of victims, ensuring their right to reparations is upheld. It will position the UK as a world leader on the repurposing of Russian assets to support victims. 

This briefing paper was written by TRIAL International in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative and REDRESS. It provides an overview of the national legal framework of England and Wales on universal jurisdiction, including statutory and case law, and its application in practice. It intends to contribute to a better understanding of domestic justice systems among legal practitioners who operate in the field of universal jurisdiction, to support the development of litigation strategies. It forms part of a series of briefing papers on selected countries.

In a letter ahead of the Council’s 50th session (13 June to 8 July 2022), REDRESS joined other non-governmental organisations in calling on the UN Human Rights Council to support the adoption of a resolution that ensures continued attention to Sudan’s human rights situation through enhanced interactive dialogues at the Council’s 52nd and 53rd regular sessions.

This report summary highlights the key findings and recommendations of our report Unequal Justice: Accountability for Torture against LGBTIQ+ Persons in Africa. The report sheds light on the violence and torture suffered by LGBTIQ+ people in Africa and the challenges that victims face to secure accountability for these crimes. It examines the situation in 11 countries in Africa - Algeria, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda, and South Africa - but the findings of the research are equally applicable to other contexts in Africa. The report outlines specific proposals to States, African human rights bodies, and civil society to improve the current situation.

This report sheds light on the violence and torture suffered by LGBTIQ+ people in Africa and the challenges that victims face to secure accountability for these crimes. It examines the situation in 11 countries in Africa - Algeria, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda, and South Africa - but the findings of the research are equally applicable to other contexts in Africa. While discriminatory violence can and often does amount to torture or other ill-treatment, the report finds that States often fail to confront or treat it as such. Many States in Africa afford little to no legal protection to LGBTIQ+ persons, whilst others criminalise same-sex conduct and fail to recognise the full spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities. In recent years, there has also been a resurgence in legislation which targets, rather than protects, LGBTIQ+ persons. This has resulted in an increase in violence against LGBTIQ+ persons, while impunity remains the norm. The report, which has a foreword by the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Víctor Madrigal-Borloz, outlines specific proposals to States, African human rights bodies, and civil society to improve the current situation.

The Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) and REDRESS three-part series of factsheets summarises the key thematic areas reviewed in the recent report titled ‘Anti-Torture Standards in Common Law Africa: Good Practices and Way Forward’. The factsheets review the anti-torture legal and regulatory frameworks in specific States in common law Africa but can be useful for other States and practitioners in the region more broadly. Specifically, the three factsheets analyse: The extent to which the reviewed States have domesticated the definition and prohibition of torture, the implementation of safeguards against torture for persons deprived of their liberty, and the existing complaints and investigation mechanisms that receive complaints of and investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in the eight States reviewed. To download a Factsheet, see the ‘Downloads’ menu and click on the Factsheet you would like to download.

REDRESS and the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition (UKACC) have published a review of the first year of the UK anti-corruption sanctions, outlining how the UK Government has used it powers since 26 April 2021 and identifying key areas for improvement.