Publications

REDRESS has submitted the present comments in response to the list of issues published by the Committee against Torture concerning Sri Lanka’s combined third and fourth state party reports. The submission focuses on violations alleged to have been committed, and responses thereto, during the final phase of the conflict in Sri Lanka. It elaborates on the relevant parts of a joint submission submitted separately to the Committee against Torture that sets out concerns in relation to Sri Lanka’s record of compliance with the Convention against Torture, both in the law enforcement context and in the course of conflict.

This report details the findings of the 1 day conference - co-organised by Redress and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies - that sought to consider the implementation of the reparation mandate of the International Criminal Court. The conference, entitled 'First Reparations before the International Criminal Court: Issues and Challenges', brought together numerous stakeholders ranging from victims and their legal representatives, civil society organizations, academics, Court officials and States Parties to the Rome Statute, to explore the issues and challenges ahead, and to ensure that reparations proceedings are adequately prepared, well-executed and affirming for victims both in terms of process and result.

In this submission to the UK Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry, Redress calls for the UK to maintain a foreign policy in the Middle East which reflects international anti-torture obligations, while supporting the transition to civil society and helping institutions in this region. The UK’s foreign policy should be based on scrupulous adherence to international human rights standards; it must avoid being seen to condone torture by breaching its non-refoulement obligations, by being complicit in torture, or by allowing the UK to be a safe-haven for torture suspects. The UK should play a constructive role to assist states in the process of addressing legacies of torture in times of transition by supporting civil society and helping institutions to function within states’ clear obligations contained in the UN Convention Against Torture.

This report aims to provide local, national and international human rights defenders and decision makers with a comprehensive analysis of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which has been in force in several parts of India for more that 50 years. This report examines the legality of the Act in regard to India's human rights obligations under the Constitutional mandates of India and international law sources, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with a view to providing lawmakers with the information needed to consider the future of the Act, including its repeal. It also provides a tool for victims of violations and their lawyers who litigate cases relating to the Act, and to national or international human rights bodies or courts considering its lawfulness.

This publication, written in association with Uganda Victims Foundation, seeks to provide insight into the barriers faced by Ugandans in seeking redress following the terrible impact of the Lango War. The report details the treatment of these cases within the International Criminal Court, the response of the Ugandan government to these cases, and the current problems facing Uganda's socio-economic programmes in the greater north, including programme such as NAADS, NUSAF 1, PRDP and NUSAF II.

This briefing paper - co-authored by Redress and several partner organisations - raises serious concerns about Clause 154 of the Police Reform and Social Bill, which would require the Director of Public Prosecutions’s (DPP’s) consent before an arrest warrant could be issued for an international crime such as torture, war crimes or crimes against humanity. Not only would this undermine the criminal justice system to hold accountable perpetrators of such crimes who live in or visit the UK, it would signal to the international community that the UK is no longer committed to ending impunity for international crimes. If the House wishes to give the DPP a greater role in the arrest warrant procedure, we recommend the amendment to Clause 154 proposed by Baroness D’Souza, Lord Lester of Herne Hill and Baroness Tonge. This would give the DPP the opportunity to advise the court upon the issuing of the warrant but would not require his consent to its being issued.

Redress has submitted an open letter to the Foreign Affairs Committee, following an invitation to participate in the FAC's annual inquiry into the human rights work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This letter focuses on the 2010 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report, 'Human Rights and Democracy'. This report clearly evidences the problems posed in condemning torture within countries whom are allied with the UK, such as Suadi Arabia, which has a history of torturing British Citizens. Sir Emyr recommends that the report put greater focus on the issue of torture in such countries as an ongoing and systematic problem, and calls for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take a more consistent approach when drawing attention towards torture practices abroad, in order to be universally consistent on the UK's anti-torture obligations.

This report was submitted to the International Criminal Court in order to aid reflection on what reparation means and should mean in the context of mass atrocity. The report examines the shortcomings of the existing normative framework for reparations of international crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court, comparing it to various international and domestic frameworks. The report also refers to lessons learnt on reparations at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia. The report also examines the respective roles of the judges’ Chambers, the Registry and the Prosecutor’s Office in ensuring victim-sensitive policies to allow for the effective discharge of their respective functions.