Publications

NGOs have urged Secretary Blinken and USAID Administrator Power to repurpose a percentage of immobilized Russian sovereign assets towards urgent interim reparation which would address the devastating harms suffered by the most vulnerable survivors of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. According to the U.S. REPO for Ukrainians Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, must submit an assessment of Ukraine's pressing needs for "reconstruction, rebuilding, and humanitarian aid." The open letter from REDRESS and the Global Survivors Fund emphasizes the importance of prioritizing interim reparations within this needs assessment, asserting that humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, and recovery must be considered hand in hand with provision of reparation.

Since 2022, REDRESS has been working alongside a group of UK-based survivors of torture and their family members in the UK. This began with the co-production of the ‘Whose Justice’ report, that highlights what justice means to survivors in practice, why it is important, and what their key barriers are to achieving justice within the UK. Since then, we have continued to develop our survivor-centred advocacy, by producing the Survivor of Torture manifesto, a call to action with seven recommendations to the UK Government that aim to improve access to justice, accountability, and reparation for survivors of torture.

This publication builds on the discussions from a thematic briefing on reparation for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence held by REDRESS and the Global Survivors Fund during the 88th session of CEDAW. It highlights the challenges faced by survivors and the existing gaps in law and practice that hinder the fulfilment of their right to reparation. After analysing the relevant practice and jurisprudence from CEDAW, it also presents recommendations to this UN body to further support survivors in obtaining reparation.

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.