opening a sewing workshop for women and providing assistance to women and girls in the Bujumbura and Kayanza provinces. Mr Shalif highlighted the importance of giving the community an opportunity to express its needs and opinions, particularly in situations where many communities feel unable to speak out due to the repressive environment. General discussion The group discussed the challenges in state- and NGO-led rehabilitation. Although the main aim may be ultimately to get the state to take responsibility for the rehabilitation of torture victims, in practice implementation is difficult. In addition, certain models, e.g. the Netherlands model, would be difficult to implement in countries where torture happens within the state. While there are different approaches to providing rehabilitation services between democracies and regimes, how to structure rehabilitation is not only a political question but also needs to be looked at in terms of capacity, including the numbers of torture victims, available funding and other resources. The importance of cooperation was emphasized, both at a national and regional level. Making efforts to introduce the work of the rehabilitation centres can pay off if the state starts to understand the work and show support. The centre in Cameroon noted that inviting government officials to some of its training events and seminars has encouraged the government to support their work and participate in the discussion, so they understand the benefits and need for torture rehabilitation. The involvement of international organisations (e.g. the IRCT) and coalition groups can also help to promote the work of rehabilitation services where it is difficult for the centres themselves to openly criticize the government. Boris Drozdek (Psychotrauma Centrum Zuid, Netherlands) outlined the challenges faced in the Netherlands, which has a semi state-led system for the rehabilitation of torture victims. Asylum-seekers and refugees make up the main category of torture victims and many challenges in providing full rehabilitation are caused by the shortfalls in the asylum procedure. Right to Rehabilitation for Torture Victims, Beirut, Lebanon – 27/28 June 2013 9