Publications

The present report highlights universal jurisdiction cases where judges or prosecutors have initiated investigations into the most serious international crimes in 2021. It also raises the question of how universal jurisdiction can contribute to the fight against impunity for conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. The report has been researched and written by Valerie Paulet, Legal Consultant at TRIAL International, in collaboration with Civitas Maxima, the Center for Justice and Accountability, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights, and REDRESS. The publication benefited from the generous support of the Oak Foundation, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the UKAID from the UK Government and the City of Geneva.

REDRESS and its South African partners, Access Chapter 2, have made a joint submission as part of the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of South Africa that will be held in October and November 2022. The submission focuses on the disproportionate violence and other human rights violations experienced by individuals who identify as LGBTIQ+ in South Africa, raises concerns regarding legislative and practical gaps in the protection of LGTIQ+ persons, the State’s failure to prevent, investigate and prosecute acts of violence (including torture and other ill-treatment) and pervasive barriers to justice and redress for victims.

The effective incorporation of anti-torture standards within States’ domestic legal frameworks and their effective implementation in practice is crucial to prevent torture and other ill-treatment, ensure that perpetrators are held accountable, and to provide redress for victims. States in the African region widely reject the practice of torture and other ill-treatment, notably reflected through near regional universality of the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) and the widespread ratification of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and other human rights treaties. REDRESS and the Convention against Torture Initiative’s report examines the anti-torture legislative and regulatory framework of eight States in common law Africa, namely, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe. It identifies existing good practices and legislative provisions and opportunities for anti-torture legislative and regulatory reforms to inspire action towards strengthening the domestic implementation of UNCAT across the region. It outlines measures and proposals that can be considered by States and their institutions to secure legal protection against torture and other ill-treatment and positively impact torture prevention and response in practice. REDRESS would like to thank our partners CTI; the law firm Clifford Chance for their support during the drafting and editing process, and the expert members of the Advisory Board of this report: Ms. Aua Baldé, H.E. Mr. Ramses Joseph Cleland, Dr. Alice Edwards, Mr. Gaye Sowe, Ms. Ruth Ssekindi  and Prof. Frans Viljoen.

In this briefing, REDRESS, the People’s Legal Aid Centre (PLACE), the Darfur Bar Association, and the Emergency Lawyers Group outline patterns of arrests and detentions conducted under Sudan’s emergency laws since the 25 October 2021 military coup.

This briefing provides background on Sudan’s Central Reserve Police (or "Abu Tira"), its current leadership and organisational structure, and a summary of ongoing violations committed in combination with other Sudanese military and security forces.

In the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this briefing calls on the UK government to effectively implement the right to reparation in international law through confiscating the assets of corrupt actors and human rights abusers so the proceeds can be used for the benefit of victims. This may be achieved through the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022.

In this bulletin, we feature some positive updates on our areas of work. This includes our initiatives in our Reparation programme, such as Magnitsky Sanctions project, through which we seek to impose a financial cost on the perpetrators of torture with travel bans and asset freezes. Another is the Asset Recovery project, where we are developing pilot cases to explore legal routes to seize assets from human rights abusers and redistribute them as reparations to their victims. Also highlighted is the story of Tariku Asefa, which reminds us that much more remains to be done to repair the harm experienced by those who have survived the horrors of torture and enable them to rebuild their lives and regain their place in society. The Bulletin also provides the latest updates on REDRESS’s growing team, advocacy campaigns, publications and policy work in recent months.

In this submission, REDRESS and eight other civil society organisations request States to include provisions on asset recovery in a new multilateral treaty that is being drafted. The Draft MLA Initiative seeks to improve international cooperation in the domestic prosecution of serious international crimes. The civil society organisations note that the provisions on asset recovery would enhance opportunities to secure the payment of reparations for victims.