29June-3 July 2009, Geneva, Switzerland

The WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT) invites nominations for participation inthe Special Procedures Seminar 2009 that will take place in Geneva,Switzerland, from 29 June to 3 July 2009 at the Graduate Institute ofInternational and Development Studies of the University of Geneva.

The purpose ofthis five-day seminar is to support national NGOs in using the United NationsSpecial Procedures System to address the economic, social and cultural rootcauses of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. OMCTresearch has demonstrated the strong links between failure to respect economic,social and cultural rights and violence, including torture, cruel, inhuman anddegrading treatment, summary or arbitrary executions, forced disappearances,violence against women and violence against children. And it has also shownthat acting on those root causes can reduce violence.

OMCT seeks toaddress torture and other forms of violence by strengthening the capacity ofnational NGOs to address their economic, social and cultural root causesthrough national and international instruments, including interventions(complaints) addressed to UN Special Procedures mandate holders, governments,development institutions, the private sector and the institutions of theEuropean Union.

This is thethird Special Procedures Seminar. The first two seminars took place in June2007 and June 2008. During those seminars, NGO representatives held in-depthdiscussions with leading UN Special Procedures mandate holders responsible forissues relating to torture, indigenous peoples, the right to health, arbitrarydetention, protection of human rights defenders, violations of human rights byprivate security forces, adequate housing, minorities issues, right to food,and human rights of migrants. The 2007 seminar report is available at www.omct.org .

Objectives of the seminar

The principalobjective of the Special Procedure Seminar is to help NGOs to prepareinterventions (complaints) for submission to the UN or other organisationsand/or alternative reports for submission to UN Treaty Bodies calling forpractical action to stop or prevent torture and other forms of violence bydealing with their economic social and cultural root causes. An importantobjective for OMCT is to build partnerships with NGOs to work together on theseissues over the long term. The seminar, in particular, will seek to:

• Work together to understand the various ways violations of economic, social and cultural rights are linked to violence and how acting on those root causes can reduce violence;
• Work together to develop their own capacity to address the economic, social and cultural root causes of violence;
• Identify how action on the root causes of violence could relate to the specific circumstances of the participants’ countries;
• Discuss proposals for interventions (complaints) presented by participants;
• discuss proposals from participants for including in alternative reports to UN Treaty bodies and in submissions to other institutions (for example the European Union) of information on the link between the denial of economic, social and cultural rights and torture along with recommendations for specific action; and
• Identify new and emerging issues for attention.

Methods ofwork

The seminar’swork will be built principally around a discussion and refinement of thepotential interventions or alternative report elements to ensure that theparticipants leave the seminar with practical action to take on returning home.Participants will be encouraged to exchange experiences and challenges anddescribe the methods that they have used to address the seminar’s issues.

Fifteen NGOrepresentatives will be invited to take part in the seminar to work withinternational experts and UN Special Procedures mandate holders[3]to:

- Identify specific situations andconcrete case studies in their country where government policy and projectsrisk to lead to violations or denials of economic, social and cultural rights,and this in turn lead to violence.

- Identify concreteand viable actions to be taken at national and international level as well asidentify key actors to address the economic, social and cultural root causes oftorture.

To facilitateexchanges with UN Special Procedures mandate holders, the seminar is held inparallel with their annual meeting.