International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims

The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) is a health-based umbrella organisation that supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and the prevention of torture worldwide.

Our members comprise more than 140 independent organisations in over 70 countries.Our work is governed by these member organisations. Today, we are the largest membership-based civil society organisation to work in the field of torture rehabilitation and prevention.

In 2015 the IRCT movement reviewed its strategic direction through a series of regional consultation meetings, an expert workshop on research development, and an extensive review of its work and priorities.  From this foundation the movement adopted a strategic plan for 2015 - 2020.  It is a clarion call to those within our movement, the rehabilitation sector and the broader human rights and health sector to join in the pursuit of the implementation of the right to rehabilitation through a sector wide approach.

The IRCT's vision continues to be a world without torture. However, as long as the practice of torture continues, persons and communities subjected to it are entitled to full reparation, which includes health-based rehabilitation. In the IRCT's last strategic period, from 2007 to 2014, the movement contributed significantly to the most relevant global development in the field of torture rehabilitation: the issuance of General Comment No. 3 of the Committee against torture; Implementation of article 14 by States parties (CAT General Comment 3), which defines the right to rehabilitation within the frame of international human rights law.

Having reached this milestone, the next challenge is to ensure this entitlement is actually delivered.

This strategy provides a streamlined framework, which rests on a comprehensive mapping exercise already in progress, whereby the IRCT will capture, assess, codify and share the knowledge residing in the movement.

This will be the basis for the IRCT's two strategic objectives:

• The IRCT will be a leading hub of global knowledge on health-based rehabilitation.

• The IRCT will lead global consensus-making processes on the right to rehabilitation's contents, scope and standards.

During the strategic period, the IRCT will seek to achieve these objectives through a series of activities grouped under three key result areas:

• Capacity building - the creation of a shared knowledge base will allow each member to identify gaps in their ability to implement best standards of service.

• Research development - the identification of shared knowledge will lead to the identification of gaps in relation to research needs.

• Advocacy - the existing knowledge and that generated through research will be used to promote entitlement to rehabilitation.

The Scientific Symposium is a critical opportunity for advancing the Global Strategic Plan 2015 - 2020. For more information on the IRCT's programmes and projects click on the plan icon.

IRCT website: www.irct.org