FOREWORD: Poverty is both a cause and effect of torture: that was the theme of this year’s annual commemoration of the United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims.

Poverty is inextricably linked to torture: both as cause and effect. As our Patron and former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Manfred Nowak says, if you are poor, you are more likely to become a victim of torture. And, if you are a victim of torture, the devastating consequences often lead to an inability to provide for oneself or one’s family, and where torture is endemic, this can lead to destitution for whole societies.

The aim of torture is to break down the victim’s personality and resilience; it is first and foremost a means of instilling fear in society at large in order to maintain social control and suppress popular opposition. Torture, therefore, is not only destructive at the individual and family level, but also a crucial obstacle to economic and social development. The prevention of torture is crucial to ensuring fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Victims can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, including symptoms such as anxiety, flashbacks, insomnia, nightmares, depression, and memory lapses. They often feel shame, triggered by the humiliation they have endured, and feel they have betrayed themselves, their friends and family.

But, with adequate and accessible rehabilitation – including victims accessing justice – and work at an international, national and local level for the prevention of torture, this cycle of torture, poverty and destruction of communities can be broken. That’s why the IRCT focuses on these three intertwined strands in its global efforts to help bring about a world without torture. Throughout the year the IRCT works to ensure the strengthening of capacity and knowledge sharing between its members as well as influencing policy in support of access to justice, rehabilitation and prevention. It also works to ensure that adequate resources are dedicated for torture survivors to get the rehabilitation they need and that is their right.

26 June provides us with an annual focal point to honour the victims of torture and to remind the world of the ongoing need to eradicate this practice and care for the survivors. This year, together with survivors, their families and their communities, member centres of the 150-strong International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims marked the day by holding demonstrations, conferences, peace marches and other events on all continents, reflecting the global scale of this movement. And, we’re delighted to note that 73 organisations commemorated 26 June around the world, up from 50 in 2010.

Our movement is a growing one, yet all over the world there is a need for more rehabilitative services. States simply do not provide adequately, if at all, for the rehabilitation of those they have tortured. Many survivors are denied the chance to rebuild their lives, physically, mentally, and socially. The need is growing – the global economic downturn has not left our movement unscathed and all over the world centres face a struggle to continue in their crucial work, let alone expand to meet the needs of victims of this most horrific of human rights abuses.

In meeting the needs of victims and working towards the prevention of torture, your help is crucial. Help us build a world without torture.