Committee against Torture discusses ways of assisting victims of torture with chair of United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture

Committee against Torture

30 April 2015

The Committee against Torture today heard a presentation from the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture and discussed ways of assisting victims of torture through the Fund.       

In his presentation Adam Bodnar, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture, said every year the Fund channelled assistance to an average of 60,000 victims of all ages and genders and in all continents.  It was estimated that in 2015 alone the Fund would provide assistance to 56,900 victims, of whom 26,445 were women in 81 countries amounting to a total of $ 6.3 million.  An additional $ 1 million had been set aside to respond to emergencies outside the regular granting cycle.  The Fund would mark its thirty-fifth anniversary in 2016.  After more than three decades of work the Fund had established and financially supported many rehabilitation centres around the world; professional expertise had been accrued in all regions on the psychosocial and mental support of victims; and many cases had been successfully litigated in national and international courts to ensure adequate reparations. 

More than 150 United Nations Member States had ratified the Convention against Torture.  However, torture continued to be practiced and a large number of victims remained unattended and in need of assistance, said Mr. Bodnar.  The high number of applications received by the Fund every year reflected the sad reality that there were not enough resources and capacity at the national level to respond effectively to the needs of victims.  In many countries civil society initiatives were often the sole response available.  In that context the Committee’s General Comment No. 3 had provided great clarity and guidance on the obligation for redress and rehabilitation contained in Article 14 of the Convention.  Mr. Bodnar recalled the public workshop convened two weeks ago in Geneva by the Board of Trustees on the redress and rehabilitation of victims of torture.  More than 120 delegates from Member States, civil society, media, and specialized practitioners in the field of rehabilitation took part and a report on the outcomes would be released soon.

The United Nations Fund was willing to support the Committee in ensuring informed review under Article 14 by disseminating the General Comment among its grantees, and was interested in sharing the knowledge accrued over the last decades in the field of effective rehabilitation and redress.  Mr. Bodnar highlighted the Fund’s appreciation of the Committee’s emphasis on the need for the identification of torture victims among asylum seekers and for the provision of assistance to them.  In conclusion, Mr. Bodnar said the Board of Trustees looked forward to a continuous exchange with the Committee for the advancement of the cause of victims of torture around the world.  In the immediate term they stood ready to associate with the Committee in a joint statement to mark the International Day of Victims of Torture on 26 June. 

In an ensuing dialogue with Committee Members, Experts asked about the machinery to respond to emergencies, spoke about holistic rehabilitation needs of victims in general and the need to focus on victims of both non-State actors and State actors, especially if the rehabilitation centre was funded by the State.  Experts asked about the many categories of victims, including asylum seekers and victims of trafficking, and about funding mechanisms for the United Nations Fund. 

In response Mr. Bodnar said generating funds was a pressing issue particularly taking into account the financial situation of the biggest donor countries.  The Board of Trustees promoted the Fund as much as possible to Member States to convince them to increase their donations.  Mr. Bodnar spoke about how the Board of Trustees considered the various needs of different categories of victims of torture.  He referred to the workshop held early this month and said the knowledge shared there on ways of functioning even more effectively had been extremely valuable.  The Fund had been able to assist victims of torture from Syria thanks to its strong relations with centres in neighbouring countries, such as Jordan.  The dream of the Board of Trustees was to provide coverage for victims in every country in the world, he added. 

Information about the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture can be found on its webpage: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/UNVFT.

The Committee against Torture will next meet in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon to complete its consideration of the second periodic report of Serbia (CAT/C/SRB/2).

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For use of the information media; not an official record

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