• Members should keep the IRCT Brussels office updated on any publications or reports on their activities that they have prepared, as these are extremely useful in IRCT advocacy activities towards the EU. • Members should contact their local EU delegation to discover when the next NGO consultation on the human rights situation in their country is set to take place and to ensure that they are invited to attend. If no consultation is coming up, members can ask for an appointment with the human rights focal point to present their organisation and establish a relationship with the relevant contacts. • Members meeting with their EU delegation for the first time should contact the IRCT Brussels office ahead of the meetings to establish if they have all of the relevant information and if the IRCT has had prior contact with the EU on their behalf. • Members should keep the IRCT Brussels office updated on meetings that they hold with the local delegation and whether they found them useful or not. • The IRCT Brussels office may ask members to contribute information towards human rights consultations held in Brussels. European Parliament delegations The European Parliament (EP) organises delegations to third countries for the purpose of furthering EU-third country integration, opening dialogues with governments and establishing closer links with the opposition and civil society. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) usually include a meeting with civil society and NGOs in their agenda, providing an opportunity to receive input from organisations working on the ground concerning their work and the obstacles they face. While upcoming delegations are not always announced in advance, the IRCT Brussels office aims to monitor EP activity in this area, and wherever possible advise the 14 delegates to invite IRCT member centres to these meetings and/or visit their premises. This serves the purpose of promoting knowledge around issues surrounding torture in individual countries, as well as greater recognition for the need to rehabilitate torture victims, which in the long term can influence EU policy and priorities. Engaging with European Union foreign policy on the ground – an IRCT guide Members are advised to meet with MEPs whenever meetings are organised by the EU delegation or if they are informed about them by the IRCT Brussels office. MEPs should be made aware of relevant torture and rehabilitation related issues, which they can then bring up at the political level in Brussels.

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