Publications

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.

Survivors of CRSV in Sudan struggle to access justice and obtain reparation. Perpetrators are rarely held accountable due to near total impunity of State-sanctioned violence embedded in Sudan’s power structures and legal framework. This briefing, written in partnership with Rights for Peace, provides an overview and recommendation on addressing CRSV in Sudan beyond the case of S.I., a student involved in pro-democracy rallies in Khartoum in 2011.

Ahead of the UK general election on July 4th 2024, REDRESS presents a set of six recommendations to ensure that the next government protects our security and human dignity by taking torture seriously, developed in partnership with survivors of torture and the UK anti-torture movement.

This briefing provides an overview of recent developments in the UK’s use of targeted sanctions as of 6 November 2024.

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is pervasive in all armed conflicts, regardless of their location or nature. This report describes the main challenges that survivors and practitioners face to realising the implementation of reparation, and identifies and shares good practice with practitioners in the field to address those challenges, with the ultimate goal of facilitating the delivery of reparation to survivors. This report is part of a REDRESS project that explores holistic strategic litigation as a tool to overcome the obstacles for the implementation of decisions awarding reparation for CRSV survivors.

State hostage-taking, where individuals are arbitrarily detained by foreign governments for diplomatic leverage, involves serious violations of human rights, including the right not to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment, the right to liberty and a fair trial, and in some cases the right to life. According to the UK Foreign Affairs Committee, the use of State hostage-taking is increasing internationally. However, the UK lacks a comprehensive strategy to ensure the safe return of hostages, resulting in ad hoc efforts which fail to acknowledge the systemic nature of the issue while delivering inconsistent outcomes. This briefing highlights the urgency of addressing this issue and makes recommendations that aim to prevent British nationals being exploited as pawns and instrumentalised by States as part of a practice where they are at risk of torture and ill-treatment.