ESCR Programme Bulletin on activities 2007-2008
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is implementing a project designed to prevent torture and other forms of violence by acting on their economic, social and cultural root causes.
The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of national NGOs to address the root causes of torture and other forms of violence directly with their own national authorities and internationally through alternative reports to United Nations Treaty Bodies. In the context of the project OMCT works with national partners to prepare appeals in urgent cases and more detailed complaints addressed to the United Nations, governments, development institutions, the private sector and the institutions of the European Union. OMCT also organises seminars and training courses to help build NGO capacity and invites NGO representatives to take part in UN meetings.
In the first two years of the implementation of this project, OMCT has learned that addressing the economic, social and cultural root causes of violence through the appropriate channels has a real potential to reduce human rights abuses, and that this in turn increases the space for economic, social and cultural development. While the project aims to ensure respect for all human rights, and in particular economic, social and cultural rights in government economic, development and other policies, it does not seek to determine what those policies should be.
OMCT has also found that demonstrating that violations of economic, social and cultural rights can lead to torture and other serious forms of violence strengthens the pressure for action not only on States, which do not want to see their economic and social policies explicitly linked to violence, but also, for example, on the corporate sector, banks and development agencies. This bulletin contains an overview of the activities undertaken by this project in 2007 and 2008 in the following five areas of action:
- Working with NGOs to reinforce their capacity for action;
- Bringing about change through action files and other forms of interventions;
- Using the UN Treaty Bodies and other mechanisms to bring about change;
- Working with the European Union;
- Building a framework of understanding through advocacy.