Denmark and Switzerland Host International Conference on Justice for Torture Victims with Emphasis on a Victim-Centered Approach and the Right to Redress and Rehabilitation
On 2 June 2023 the Permanent Representations of Denmark and of Switzerland to the OSCE hosted an international conference in Vienna on “Justice for Torture Victims: Applying a victim-centered approach and ensuring the right to redress and rehabilitation in practice”.
The conference was organised with the support of the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Read more about the conference here.
Read the welcoming remarks as delivered by the Permanent Representative of Denmark to the OSCE, Ambassador Christian Grønbech-Jensen:
Dear colleagues. Dear valued members of civil society. Ladies and Gentlemen.
On behalf of Denmark and Switzerland, I have the great pleasure of welcoming you to this conference on “Justice for Torture Victims”, which is organised with the support of the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia and ODIHR. Thank you all for coming.
This is the fourth time that Denmark and Switzerland organise a conference on torture prevention here in Vienna. Over the years, we have focused on ‘Effective Multilateralism in the Fight Against Torture’ as well as the roles and responsibilities of police and other law enforcement. Last year, as a response to Russia’s blatant act of aggression against Ukraine, our conference focused on holding perpetrators of acts of torture to account.
One year on – as Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine continues – Denmark remains as committed as ever to ensuring accountability and justice for the people of Ukraine. We will not tire from saying it: Perpetrators must and will be held to account.
But justice for victims of torture is about more than legal justice in a court of law. It is about putting the victims first. And it is about honouring the right to redress of the victims.
Today, we will engage in an important conversation on how to do exactly that. A conversation on how to overcome the various obstacles, which continue to persist across the OSCE region, to fulfil our shared OSCE commitments to apply a victim-centred approach and to ensure the victims’ right to proper redress and rehabilitation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The prevention and eradication of torture is a long-standing Danish priority, which we work to promote in all international organisations, including the OSCE. And we are proud to host two internationally acclaimed organisations in Denmark, who are working to promote and ensure redress and rehabilitation for victims of torture, and who we will also hear from today.
In Tirana in 2020 we, as OSCE participating States, managed to agree on the organisation’s first comprehensive decision on the topic. This was an important milestone for us. But the work is not done with the decision. We continue to receive new alarming testimonies of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual and gender based violence, from brave survivors of Russia’s war against Ukraine, from Belarus and from other parts of the region.
Today, we hope to put all of you – with all your knowledge and dedication – to work on helping to further our understanding of the tasks still in front of us to assist victims of torture and other ill-treatment. To ensure their rehabilitation. And to help rebuild their lives.
The road to legal accountability for gross human rights violations is often long, but this only makes today’s focus on rehabilitation even more pertinent.
I am very much looking forward to the fruitful discussions and hopefully many new recommendations from the participants on how to redouble our efforts in the OSCE and beyond to fight torture by putting the victims first.
Before I conclude, I would like to thank the 2023 OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia and ODIHR for their valuable support in organising the event. ODIHR’s toolbox and efforts in the fight against torture is comprehensive and efficient, and we are very happy to have the Director of ODIHR, Mr. Matteo Meccaci, here with us today – online – to share a few introductory remarks.
I would also like to thank our brave keynote speaker, Mr. Anatoliy Harahaty, from Ukraine – who will share his own grave story of surviving torture by Russian forces – and Ms. Tetiana Pechonchyk from ZMINA Human Rights Centre, who will give a short presentation to put the testimony into context. And of course our excellent panellists – both the ones who are online and the ones here in Vienna – for being with us today.
With this I leave you in the capable hands of today’s 'MC’.
Thank you.