BACKGROUND: 1. As part of its Strategy for Implementation and Ratification 2016-2017, the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) held a regional seminar for States in the OSCE region to share experiences and practices on the implementation of torture victims’ right to rehabilitation. The event, which was hosted by the Government of Denmark, was held in Copenhagen on 23-24 June 2016 and opened by the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kristian Jensen. It was organised in partnership with the German Chairmanship of the OSCE and DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture.

2. More than 60 participants from across the OSCE region attended, drawn from departments of justice, home affairs, health, integration and foreign affairs, national human rights institutions, civil society, non-governmental organisations and academia. 22 OSCE participating States were represented: Armenia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK and the United States of America (USA). The meeting also heard country experiences from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Norway by non-State rehabilitation practitioners. CTI core group members Chile, Indonesia and Morocco were also represented at the meeting.

3. In addition to State representation, the event featured inputs from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (via videolink), the Chair of the UN Committee against Torture (CAT), the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (UNVFVT) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The event also benefitted from the participation of a number of non-governmental experts and experienced rehabilitation practitioners from across the OSCE region.

4. The seminar was conducted under the Chatham House Rule to encourage and foster open and frank dialogue. It was informed by a CTI-DIGNITY discussion paper titled “Good Practices and Current Challenges in the Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors”. The discussion paper provides an interdisciplinary perspective on key issues and developments related to implementation of torture victims’ right to rehabilitation. It outlines the key components of rehabilitation and presents a number of models and approaches to delivery and promotes a number of promising State practices. Finally, the participants heard two personal testimonies from Mr. Vincent Cochetel, a torture survivor and Director of the UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Europe, via a CTI short film titled “Rehabilitation for Victims of Torture: Restoring their Humanity” and Mr. Juan Mendez, UN Rapporteur on Torture and torture survivor, via a United Nations Television documentary…