Publications

In this fact sheet, REDRESS and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) call on States participating in the Human Rights Council’s (HRC) 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt to recommend that Egypt put an end to torture and ill-treatment and ensure accountability and access to an effective remedy for victims.

The Torture Litigation Casebook series showcases around 80 case studies of strategic litigation against torture from around the world to illustrate best practice and to help lawyers and activists preparing for litigation. Casebook I features 23 cases brought before different jurisdictions: regional courts (the IACtHR, the ACHPR, and the ECtHR), the ICJ, communications to the UN Human Rights Committee, and national courts in North America, Africa and Europe. It seeks to highlight different techniques of strategic litigation against torture, including national and international advocacy, collaborative partnerships, and effective media campaigns. While the cases may be well-known, their strategic approach and impact is less known. The Casebooks also present a range of innovative legal claims or remedies, and efforts to bring about effective implementation. Other Casebooks in the series will cover UK Cases, Dissent Cases, and Discrimination Cases. They are published alongside our Practice Notes. 

This Annual Review highlights the activities and achievements of REDRESS from April 2023 to March 2024. We drew attention to the systemic use of torture in Egypt, advocated for accountability in Sudan amidst the ongoing armed conflict, and campaigned for repurposing frozen assets of human rights abusers as reparation for survivors. We also promoted a survivor-centred approach to our work by establishing a Survivor Advisory Group in the United Kingdom and challenged the use of torture to supress dissent and oppress marginalised and excluded minorities. REDRESS also joined the United Against Torture Consortium, allowing for a long-term co-ordinated response to both torture and prevalent impunity for grave international crimes. 

Torture is a widespread and systematic practice in Egypt arguably amounting to a crime against humanity under customary international law and Article 7 of the Rome Statute. At the regional level, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, has confirmed in four cases that torture occurs in Egypt. Focusing on the ACommHPR recommendations in the case of Mohammed Abderrahim El Sharkawi v. Egypt, this briefing explores the steps that the Egyptian government should take at the domestic level for the implementation of the reparations issued.

In March 2022, Roman Abramovich promised to sell Chelsea Football Club and donate the £2.5 billion to support victims of the war in Ukraine, nearly 7 times the value of humanitarian assistance provided by the UK to Ukraine so far. However, two years on, the sale has hit a stalemate and no money has been delivered to victims of the conflict. This briefing paper outlines how the UK Government can break the deadlock over the funds and direct them towards victims in Ukraine, as promised.

REDRESS has developed nine key principles that underpin its commitment to being survivor-centred across all work areas, including the three main techniques used to challenge torture and deliver impact: (1) strategic litigation, (2) policy advocacy, and (3) media and communications. These principles fall into three categories: working with survivors, representing survivors, and accompanying survivors.

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.