World Without Torture

We created World Without Torture to serve as the public community and global movement to fight torture. Our blog will serve as a common meeting place: to provide constant updates on cases and instances of torture around the world, to explain the work of global torture fighters, to tell the stories of torture survivors.

World Without Torture is a place for the voices of those who break the silence that surrounds this crime, whether in fighting for justice, sharing their story, providing medical testimony and documentation, or publically joining in support of the victims.

Visit our Resources page for more information on how you can help.

About the IRCT

We will also provide a more transparent look into our work at the secretariat of the IRCT – the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, based in Copenhagen, Denmark and with offices in Brussels and Geneva.

The IRCT is a health-based umbrella organisation that supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and the prevention of torture worldwide.

We do so through supporting the work of our member centres – 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.

Our blog is written by the staff of the IRCT and is a window into how we go about providing access to justice, meaningful and holistic rehabilitation, and preventing torture. Many of the posts are peoples’ personal views of being part of the IRCT, so do not necessarily reflect the organisation’s views. You’ll find a more general view of what we do on the IRCT website.

The Bloggers

Brita, Secretary-General of IRCT, has led the organisation for seven years. Her leadership at the IRCT has followed a prominent career in human rights of refugees and internally displaced persons. Her previous positions include heading International Law and Refugees at the Swedish Red Cross, representative of the Norweigian Refugee Council in Geneva, and humanitarian emergency programmes in the former Yugoslavia. Furthermore, she worked for 13 years for the Swedish government on international migration.

Annette grew up on the mainland of Denmark, Jutland, but in 1996 decided to move to the Copenhagen area to work in the controlling unit of the Danish Red Cross. She has a degree in economics, and has been working within the fields of finance, administration and management in a number of different settings and businesses ever since. Annette heads the finance and administration team at the IRCT, and came to the organisation in the summer of 2011.

Asger is head of the IRCT’s Geneva office where he is responsible for maintaining and developing the organisation’s relations with UN human rights mechanisms, state representatives and relevant NGOs. He has a Master of Law from the University of Copenhagen and has lived in Geneva since the fall of 2009. He will mainly be blogging about advocacy activities at the UN and IRCT’s activities related to medical documentation of torture.

Daniel is both Fundraising and Legal Officer at the IRCT. As legal officer he oversees the legal aspects of IRCT projects and cooperation with international bodies. In fundraising, Daniel drafts fundraising and grant applications to international donors, agencies, and government organisations. Previously, he has worked as a legal researcher on torture prevention initiatives. Daniel received his JD from New York University School of Law.

 

Fábio is Communications Officer and Associate Editor of Torture Journal at the IRCT. Originally from Portugal, he moved to Copenhagen in 2008 to attend Copenhagen Business School, where he earned a master’s of science and business and development studies.

 

 

Giorgio supports IRCT’s programmes in the MENA and Asia. This includes working with the member centres and other institutions to promote a culture for prohibition of torture. Giorgio is currently engaged in prevention activities in Egypt involving the National Council for Human Rights and the Medico-Legal Authority. Prior to his work at the IRCT, Giorgio worked with the UNDP HIV/AIDS programme in the Arab States and CIS. He has a JD and a European master’s in human rights and democratisation.

Gitte works at an executive assistant and human resources officer at the IRCT, and has been at the IRCT for nearly 10 years. In her role, Gitte serves as a liaison between the Secretariat and the IRCT Executive Committee and Council. She has previously worked at offices of the European Union and the Canadian Embassy in Denmark.

Hélène works in our Brussels office, liaising with European Union bodies, and serves as programme coordinator for the European region. As such, she oversees all the project work and coordination with member centres in the area. Furthermore, she fundraises on behalf of regional member centres, monitors EU policies, and advocates on behalf of survivors for their right to access rehabilitation services. Previously, she worked as administrative and financial director of IRCT member centre Parcours d’Exil, which she co-founded in 2001.

Janice is Senior Fundraising Officer at the IRCT, focusing her work on Scandinavian foundations, campaigns and special events, Danish and international private donors and the corporate sector. She has a European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratization (E.MA), and more university degrees in law, Spanish, Latin American and French literature, and psychology. Prior to joining the IRCT, Janice spent 15 years doing development assistance for DANIDA (the Danish aid agency) and three years as an information expert for UNESCO/Latin American & Caribbean region.

Joost serves as head of the Clinical Team, through which he coordinates with the scientific clinical advisory group. Joost also works on issues related to asylum seekers, refugees, torture, and clinical work. In addition, Joost supports the Non-State Actors project, which coordinates the exchange of knowledge and resources on holistic rehabilitation between member centres primarily in the Global South. He also serves as editor in chief of Torture Journal. A Dutch native, Joost has lived in Denmark since 2010.

 

Lars is Programme Assistant in the Membership Team at the IRCT. During his studies toward a master’s in Middle Eastern studies and Arabic, Lars worked in the Danish embassy Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a trainee. Upon returning to the University of Copenhagen, Lars began at the IRCT. He will predominantly blog about his work related to the Non-State Actors project and the Middle East – North African region.

 

Line is a sociologist and researcher at the IRCT. She began working at the organisation in 2010 after completing her master’s in human rights and democratisation in Venice. She will mainly blog about the issues of children and torture in the Asian region.

 

 

Maggie serves as Senior Programme Assistant at the IRCT. In this role, she liaises with our member centres, administers grants and membership applications, and provides support to the FEAT project. She previously has worked at UNICEF.

 

 

Miriam, head of the Legal and Advocacy Team at the IRCT, has been at the organisation for five years. With a LLM specialising in international and human rights law, Miriam has worked in her native Germany, South Africa, and France. In addition to her responsibility to oversee all legal aspects of projects, Miriam has also focused on programmes that promote the prevention of torture through medical and legal documentation.

 

Önder has been working professionally on the subject of torture since 1990. A forensic physician and expert, Önder co-authored the UN manual, the Istanbul Protocol, on the forensic documentation of torture. His work at the IRCT includes roles as a medical and forensic consultant on multiple projects, including the Great Lakes region of East Africa and Forensic Evidence Against Torture (FEAT).

 

Peter, as Head of Programmes, oversees all the IRCT project-based work. Prior to working at the IRCT, Peter spent 10 years at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in addition to the UN Peace Mission in Guatamala, and coordinator of the Danida Human Rights Programme in Central America.

 

 

Soraya serves as the IRCT’s programme coordinator for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. She predominantly manages a project to develop the capacity of centres in the Great Lakes Region. Furthermore, Soraya liaises with all member centres in the region in addition to monitoring the human rights situation. Her previous work through UN agencies and the European Union has focused on Rwanda, Kenya and Nicaragua.

Scott heads the communications team at the IRCT and oversees all communications work and in-house publications. Scott previously held positions in media and communications for sustainability, health, and corporate social responsibility organisations in the UK and Holland.

 

 

Sundra has worked as a legal officer at the IRCT for several years, offering her expertise on various legal issues and policy documentation. She has training in international human rights law and international business. Sundra also serves as the IRCT’s focal point on projects related to women and torture.

 

 

Tessa is a communications assistant at the IRCT. Originally from the US, she moved to Denmark in 2011 after finishing her master’s in social science in gender studies at the University of Cape Town. Her blog posts will mainly consist of news updates on ongoing cases of torture, and the issues of women, girls, and torture.