INTRODUCTION: The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has recognised for many years that the fight against torture and other forms of violence, as well as their prevention, cannot be considered in purely legal, administrative or judicial terms, in isolation from their socio-economic context. Since its 1991 General Assembly held in Manila, OMCT has given specific attention to socio-economic considerations.

In 2000 OMCT established a full programme to focus on the socio-economic dimensions of torture, arbitrary detentions, summary executions, enforced disappearances and other forms of ill-treatment. OMCT has also established specific programmes addressing violence against women, violence against children and violence against human rights defenders.

In August 2003, OMCT launched an international research project designed to analyse the socio-economic dimensions of violence, including torture. The first part of the project is the present interdisciplinary study and the second was the International Conference “Poverty, Inequality and Violence: Is there a human rights response?” held in Geneva (4th 6th October 2005) in order to carry out a critical review of the study and its conclusions.

The project’s objective is to identify specific actions which the various actors can take to reduce violence by acting on its economic, social and cultural causes. Violence in the context of the project is understood as state-sponsored (torture, summary executions, disappearances, etc.), and non-state-sponsored (social and domestic violence)..