VIII conference “World without Torture”

On June 27 of 2012 in the hotel Courtyard Marriot shall be held VIII conference on the issue “World without Torture”. The Conference shall start at 11.00. (Registration of participants from 10.30 till 11.00)

Organized by Public Defender of Georgia and the Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture (RCT/EMPATHY, Georgia) in partnership and with the support of CVT (USA), the IRCT (Denmark, Copenhagen), Georgian Medical Association, USAID and European Union

The UN has proclaimed June 26 as the international day of assistance to victims of torture.  This day is commemorated every year through organizing events in more than 70 countries of the world. Events dedicated to this day have been organized in Georgia for the past decade. The campaign is coordinated by the International Council for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (Copenhagen, Denmark), which is an umbrella organization uniting more than 70 centers for the rehabilitation of victims of torture. 

The slogan of the campaign for this year is “Rehabilitation works and it is the right of the victim of torture”. 

It is noteworthy that in Georgia, as in other countries of the world, fighting against torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is extremely important.  Taking into consideration the fact that 20% of the territory of Georgia is occupied, that about 1/9 of the population of Georgia are victims of ethnic cleansing and that ill-treatment within the penitentiary system is a current issue, it is crucially important to focus our attention on better coordination of efforts among experts from the medical and legal fields on both the international and national levels. 

The conference will include the following presentations: The state policy on fighting against torture; the Public Defender’s report on the effectiveness of the national preventive mechanism and current challenges; the international project “Partners in Trauma for Healing” of the Center for Victims of Torture (USA) (This project is funded by USAID (Washington). In Georgia the project is implemented with the center for rehabilitation of victims of torture “Empathy”. The center “Empathy” will present a 3-year report as well as an overview of current challenges and recommendations. 

The program will include an exhibition and sale of art work by victims of ethnic cleansing and former prisoners – women and juveniles.