The OMCT
Urgent Assistance Fund for Victims of Torture, established in 1986, operates
thanks to the OMCT SOS-Torture Network, through which the OMCT is able to provide –
quickly and efficiently – direct, immediate assistance to any victim of torture
or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, regardless of their location or
situation, so they can receive at least partial remedies that are useful and
effective, enabling them to begin on the long journey to seek full redress and
rehabilitation for the crimes committed against them. Please be advised that the OMCT Urgent
Assistance Fund for Victims of Torture is granted exclusively based
on the following criteria. Eligibility for assistance through the OMCT
requires that you are:
a direct or
indirect victim of torture, or under the threat of torture;
in need of
urgent assistance (the fund does not provide long-term assistance);
should be
willing to undergo checks by qualified professionals, i.e. doctors, lawyers or
other specialists, to confirm the testimony;
- should
ideally be represented or in contact with a local OMCT Network Member or partner organisation which
is able to vouch for the veracity of the information and facts conveyed in the
request, and which is able to manage and account for the funds provided, as well as ensure they are used for the intended purposes.
For requests of assistance, or to better
understand the information required by the OMCT for those seeking assistance,
please download the form from this page:
Formulaire
and send it to
: victims(@)omct.org
Article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture defines torture in the following terms:
"(T)he term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."