Minutes:        Psychologists for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

                                26 May 2010

Attended:   Jane Herlihy, Mala German, Jacqui Gratton, Brock Chisholm, Tess Browne, Kate Thompson (minutes)

Presentation by Kevin Laue, Redress

The Redress Trust was formed in 1992 and is based in Vauxhall.  They have 12 staff and one colleague in Brussels.  The Founder of Redress was a British business man who was tortured in Saudi Arabia who found there was no action he could take to prosecute the Saudi government.  The aim of Redress is to use legal means to achieve justice/reparations for torture survivors.

Four programmes:

1. Casework
2. Work in post-conflict situations
3. Promoting international standards
4. Influencing national standards

 

Redress make use of the International Convention On Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman And Degrading Punishment

Quasi governmental groups (ie. non state actors with control of territory) can also be held liable under international law.

International law includes a right to reparation as well as a right to access justice and for justice to be done.  Following concepts apply here:

1. Restitution:  A right for the victim to be returned to the state s/he was in prior to the torture e.g. return of confiscated property, return to employment if this was lost etc.
2. Compensation or refund of loss of earnings
3. Rehabilitation: physical and mental support
4. Satisfaction: Recognition of the wrong done to the survivor, apology, prosecution of the perpetrator, commemoration/public acknowledgement, burial of the dead.
5. Guarantee of non-repetition – changes to organisations/institutions responsible to prevent repetition, changes to laws allowing for torture, education

 

However, many places in the world where torture takes place have no – or ineffective – rule of law so it is difficult to make use of these concepts.

Criminal prosecutions

Despite this there is a slow movement across the world towards the possibility of international justice.  The UN Convention prohibiting torture and other regional conventions have given rise to:

African Commission Regional Court[1]

InterAmerican Commission Court

European Court of Human Rights

(No equivalent body in Asia)

These international bodies are overarching but only when the state is committed to them and only when states are signatory to the conventions (and even in such cases, there may be no individual right for citizens to petition the courts directly. The UK has not signed up to the article allowing individual petitions – unclear why).

Committee Against Torture (CAT) is the body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties. – again this only applies to states signatory to the UN convention.

In 2002 the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established.  This is not retrospective and so can only consider matters that occurred post July 2002.  It also has limited resources and a specific mandate so can only really act against the “worst of the worst”, for example leaders of regimes committing genocide.  However, what is distinct about it is that victims can become involved, even in cases in which they are not acting as witnesses against perpetrators, as they have a right to reparations and a right to know about the court process.

Only states who are signatories to the Rome Statute can refer to the ICC although the UN Security Council can refer to them even if the countries involved are not signatories.  Prosecutors can also “refer” in the sense that they can investigate accusations and present their evidence to the ICC.

If a torturer is physically in the UK’s jurisdiction then a criminal case can be brought in the UK courts (e.g. like Pinochet’s case in Spain).  An international arrest warrant can also be issued by the ICC.

Civil Prosecutions

 

There is no international civil court.  If you are tortured outside the UK and would like to sue the government involved when in the UK you are faced with the concept of “State Immunity”, which prevents someone bringing a case in country A against country B.  This is less of an absolute barrier however, as you can sue between countries in some financial cases (e.g. breach of contract).  Part of the campaign for the torture damages bill has sought to make an exception to state immunity for cases of torture.

Redress Casework – aim to help people who have been tortured by:

1. Seeking justice through international institutions
2. Helping torture survivors with any practical problems they face as a result of torture (housing, medical, education, benefits, travel documentation) so that any agencies involved with the person are aware of their torture history.
3. Seeking compensation – this is a very slow and difficult process and is rarely paid from outside the UK.  Even if judgements about this are positive, it can prove impossible to enforce judgements.

 

Children:  The same principles of justice apply here.  Children are often secondary victims of the torture exacted on their parents.  Redress would take particular care to find out what the child involved wanted.

Referral to Redress: referrers should explain to clients and others involved that the length of time since the torture may affect what can be done (as time barriers to prosecution vary in different parts of the world).  Impossible to make promises but some cases are worth taking up just to counteract silence/institutional lies about torture.

Redress also work with the Police services to prosecute torturers in the UK.  The only one successful prosecution in 20 years (!) was of an Afghan warlord.

See Redress website (which has leaflets in different languages for more information) – www.redress.org.

The presentation by Kevin Laue and ensuing discussion were so interesting that they took up much of the meeting time and we were only able to make reference for points to be discussed at the next PsyRAS meeting afterwards.  These included information on the ESOL requirements for citizenship and the website both of which can be tabled for the next PsyRAS meeting.

Next Meetings:       

14 September 2010             10.00-12.30   Traumatic Stress Clinic

    Presentation:  Speaker: Abigail Stepnitz from the charity Eaves:

The Poppy Project – What can be done to support victims of trafficking

January date to be finalised 10.00-12.00            Traumatic Stress Clinic

 Presentation:  Speaker: Comfort Momoh from FORWARD on working with women who have experienced female genital mutilation

---

[1] Court of the African Union – all African states except Morocco have signed up to the African Union.