How We Work
REDRESS has a small team based in London. We do not have regional or local field offices, preferring to work directly with local civil society groups, lawyers and other actors on the ground. At present, we have partnerships with civil society groups in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
At the heart of REDRESS is its direct work with survivors of torture and related international crimes.
In order to maximize our impact, we work at multiple levels.
- Grassroots: we work with torture survivors directly, victims’ associations and grassroots organizations;
- National level: we work with local human rights partners, lawyers’ associations and often government ministries responsible for protecting, assisting and responding to torture and other related international crimes. We help build capacity, provide advice and direct assistance to local groups to enhance their interventions with survivors, to strengthen their advocacy work on legal or institutional reforms and the overall goal of preventing torture;
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International level: we work with intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations and regional organizations such as the European Union, Council of Europe, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Inter American Commission and Court of Human Rights and international criminal justice institutions such as the International Criminal Court. Here, we work to strengthen the international policies of such organizations regarding torture and torture survivors, including increasing the access of survivors to such institutions and increasing the support provided by such organizations to survivors.
REDRESS’ values are to prioritise the interests and perspectives of survivors in all aspects of its work. The highest priority in decisions and interventions is given to promoting survivors’ well-being and the avoidance of further traumatisation.
