Publications

This Paper – written on behalf of the Project for Criminal Law Reform in Sudan – forms part of broader efforts by Sudanese civil society to raise awareness about the repressive nature of Sudanese public order law. This campaign advocates for a repeal or amendment of provisions incompatible with applicable national and international human rights standards. The current draft of the Social Control Act 2011 entrenches repressive features of Sudanese public order law for the capital, and fails to reflect any of the concerns or proposals for change made in recent years, particularly concerning women’s rights. Its broad scope further opens the door to arbitrary law-enforcement, threatening marginalised citizens and the tranquility of post-separation Sudan.

This report details a two day conference on 'gender dimensions in torture', co-hosted by REDRESS and Amnesty International in may 2011, which brought together representatives of non-governmental organizations and academics from around the world to discuss how the legal framework on torture has and can achieve justice for women and those from marginalized groups who are the victims of deliberately inflicted harm. In doing so it looked at different gender dimensions to torture: considering how gender impacts not only the circumstances of the commission and its consequences, but also on its remedy. Their findings were shared with UN treaty body members and UN Special Rapporteurs.

Advocacy Forum and REDRESS have submitted an update on the implementation of recommendations made by then-Special Rapporteur, Professor Manfred Nowak, after his mission to Nepal in 2005. The information provided in this submission is based on Advocacy Forum’s work in Nepal monitoring places of detention, and (in partnership with REDRESS), its work with victims of torture and other serious human rights abuses to combat impunity and achieve justice through legal proceedings, legislative reform, and advocacy. We welcome the opportunity to further discuss these issues with the Special Rapporteur.

This joint submission to the UN Committee Against Torture aims to provide further information concerning the Committee’s list of issues to be considered during the examination of the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Sri Lanka. Co-authored by the Asian Legal Resource Centre, the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, and Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture, this report seeks to identify the systemic problems in legislation and practice in Sri Lanka in response to the critical points highlighted and the questions posed by the Committee in the List of Issues and Conclusions and Recommendations on Sri Lanka’s second (previous) periodic report.

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.