United Against Torture Consortium

With torture still widespread across the world, building a united front is vital to see real progress and to strengthen the implementation of international and regional rules prohibiting torture.

The United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) brings together six of the world’s leading anti-torture organisations with the aim to strengthen and expand the anti-torture movement by pooling their expertise in torture prevention, protection, survivor rehabilitation and strategic litigation against torture.

The UATC harnesses the strengths of REDRESS, the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT), the Omega Research Foundation  and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).

Funded by the European Union, the Consortium works in partnership with over 200 civil society organisations and other partners in more than 100 countries.

A United Response to Growing Threats

The UATC responds to the continuous use of torture and other ill-treatment in the context of growing threats to civil society working on torture and an increasingly volatile global environment that questions the global commitment to eradicate torture. It also seeks to build greater momentum to address more systematic challenges, such as an increase in the excessive use of force and weaponry by police and security forces in extra-judicial contexts, especially in pro-democracy protests and non-violent social demonstrations.

A key objective of the Consortium is to strengthen and service local anti-torture actors, networks, and movements, to act as an engine to power the movement, to strengthen its reach and relevance, and expand the global consensus on the absolute prohibition of torture.

The Consortium achieves its aims through several means, including by fostering survivor engagement; mobilising and empowering civil society anti-torture actors; strengthening legal protections on the prohibition of torture; strengthening strategic litigation in torture cases, and responding to crisis situations to empower and accompany local anti-torture and human rights groups.

Under the umbrella of the Consortium, REDRESS is conducting the following projects: