World Organisation Against Torture

Description

The World Organisation Against Torture, OMCT, is a global coalition of non-governmental organizations working to end torture and ill-treatment. It works through a network of more than 200 member organizations, known as the SOS-Torture Network, active in over 90 countries. The network brings together local, national and regional groups that share the goal of eradicating torture and defending human rights. Its International Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland, with further offices in Tunis and Brussels.

OMCT assists victims of torture, arbitrary detention, summary and extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearance, and helps them seek justice. It advocates with governments to change or implement laws and policies, and works to hold perpetrators to account. Its protection work focuses on vulnerable groups including women, children, indigenous peoples and migrants, and it provides support and protection to human rights defenders at risk.

Through its Prevention of Torture programme, OMCT strengthens members’ capacity to use United Nations human rights mechanisms. It submits alternative reports to UN bodies such as the Committee Against Torture, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, working together with local NGOs. It supports individuals and organizations seeking to challenge torture practices before international legal forums, and publishes practical guidance on the mechanisms available to them.