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26 June 2003





UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY
IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE:

SPEECH BY MR. BERTRAND G. RAMCHARAN
THE UNITED NATIONS ACTING
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS



Friends of the human rights movement,

Ever since the establishment of the United Nations it has worked against torture in any circumstance. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration against Torture and the Convention against Torture all insist on the unacceptability of torture, which is an international crime. Today, as we commemorate the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, let us renew our resolve to prevent torture. Let us re-commit to the prohibition of torture as internationally defined in the Convention. Let us pledge to strengthen international action against torture. Let us make a solemn commitment to translate the prohibition of torture in international instruments into national laws, policy and implementation. The prohibition of torture in the Convention is an irreducible minimum. Let us further strengthen the Convention and insist on its application universally.

I am pleased to join today with Mr. Ivan Tosevski, the Chairman of the 22nd session of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, Mr. Theo van Boven, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture, and Mr. Peter Burns, the Chairman of the United Nations Committee against Torture, to issue together a Joint Declaration, which is being published today, on the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

In the Joint Declaration we stress that freedom form torture is an absolute right which cannot be derogated from under any circumstances, including times of armed conflict and other situations of public emergency.

I wish, today, to pay a special tribute to all those who are working selflessly throughout the world to prevent torture and to relieve the suffering of torture victims. Their work deserves our full appreciation. We also very much appreciate the continued support by many Governments, as well as Non-Governmental Organizations, to help eradicate torture.

Numerous victims are assisted annually by the United Nations through about 200 Non-Governmental Organizations financed by the Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. A special tribute is also being paid to these victims, through the Exhibition of Art Works by Victims of Torture, which I have the pleasure to inaugurate. It gathers works of art made by those who have been tortured and benefited from art therapy to recover their dignity.

I encourage all Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations to help the United Nations achieve our ultimate goal: the eradication of torture and the rehabilitation for all victims of torture and their families worldwide.

I shall now call on Mr. Tosevski and Mr. Van Boven, in turn, to say a few words. I will then give the floor to the President of an international NGO which has been providing assistance to many victims of torture worldwide, the FIACAT (International Federation of Association of Christians Against Torture) a member of a wider network called CINAT, which includes Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Council for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, the International Federation of Human Rights, Redress and the World Organization against Torture.

Thank you.