United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture
Report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/49/63)
Statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture
Delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative of Peru
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.
The Group of Friends is a cross-regional group of 16 States [1] created in 2019 with the aim of bringing visibility to the rehabilitation of victims of torture and supporting the Fund in rebuilding the lives of torture victims globally.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Fund. Events and campaigns are ongoing to mark this anniversary and to celebrate the successes of the Fund. And there is indeed something significant to celebrate: For the last 40 years the Fund has provided a crucial lifeline for many torture survivors and their families. In fact, since its establishment it has awarded more than 5,000 grants in over 120 countries for a total amount of nearly 200 million US-dollars to assist approximately 1.2 million survivors of torture and their families.
The Group of Friend is proudly supporting the celebrations efforts of the Fund. In this regards, we wish to highlight the event on 25 March organized by the Fund which will take place here in Geneva and online. The event will focus on universal jurisdiction for crimes of torture and use of strategic litigation to assure accountability. We encourage all interested parties to attend.
Finally, the needs of torture survivors for rehabilitation and redress continues to outweigh the response. Again this year, the Fund in its report stresses that its budget is insufficient to meet the requests for support.
We therefore encourage all States to consider contributing to the Fund and supporting the global efforts to assist victims of torture and their families.
Thank you.
[1] Argentina, Austria, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Switzerland and the United States of America.